Ice cap thaw may awaken Icelandic volcanoes

[hedgehog]

A thaw of Iceland's ice caps in coming decades caused by climate change may trigger more volcanic eruptions by removing a vast weight and freeing magma from deep below ground, scientists said on Friday.

....

"Global warming melts ice and this can influence magmatic systems," he told Reuters. The end of the Ice Age 10,000 years ago coincided with a surge in volcanic activity in Iceland, apparently because huge ice caps thinned and the land rose.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63E3Y220100416?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a49:g43:r2:c0.102862:b32991370:z0

[DCBob]

1. This is fascinating... never heard this before.

Just one more very big reason to get a grip on this problem before its too late.

[hedgehog]

2. It's come up several times with regards to the apparent

swarm of earthquakes. (I don't know if the number of recent earthquakes is at all unusual.)

[DCBob]

4. There has been a slight uptick in larger quakes I believe..

but its hard to say if it means anything or not. The problem is by the time we see an obovious increase it will likely be too late to do anything about it.

[mzteris]

3. was just having this discussion here on DU

yesterday and on FB. . .

Strange bedfellows, an ultraconservative fundy claiming it's "not possible" and some DU'ers claiming it's "not possible". I'm telling ya, it made my head spin. :crazy: