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Melting Glaciers Could Trigger More Explosive Volcanic Eruptions Globally (www.eurekalert.org)

submitted 1 week ago by shreddy_scientist@lemmy.ml to c/science@lemmy.ml

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Melting glaciers may be silently setting the stage for more explosive and frequent volcanic eruptions in the future, according to research on six volcanoes in the Chilean Andes.

Presented today [Tuesday 8 July] at the Goldschmidt Conference in Prague, the study suggests that hundreds of dormant subglacial volcanoes worldwide – particularly in Antarctica – could become more active as climate change accelerates glacier retreat.

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[–] griff@lemmings.world 3 points 1 week ago

By precisely dating previous eruptions and analysing crystals in erupted rocks, the team tracked how the weight and pressure of glacial ice alter the characteristics of magma underground.

They found that during the peak of the last ice age (around 26,000–18,000 years ago), thick ice cover suppressed the volume of eruptions and allowed a large reservoir of silica-rich magma to accumulate 10-15 km below the surface.