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Will Global Warming Unleash More Seismic Activity?

At first glance, there doesn't seem like
there could be any connection between globalGlacial melting has a less direct but just as
warming and seismic activity. After all, whyunsettling additional impact on global
would the earth become less stable justseismic activity. The reliquified water
because  it's  a  little  warmer?released raises sea levels and increases the
weight on the ocean floor, unbalancing
Well, connected they are. The earth's crusttectonic forces deep below the surface.
is a lot more sensitive than you might think.Underwater quakes and therefore tsunamis
There are well documented cases of even thecould thus become more frequent. Though they
load of water in a new dam triggeringget little attention, glacial melting of the
earthquakes  in  the  local  area.Antarctic ice is already causing earthquakes
and  underwater  landslides.
A number of geologists say glacial melting,
in particular, will unleash pent-up pressuresOther hotspots at high risk of submarine
in the Earth's crust, causing extremeearthslides - similar to the one that set off
geological events such as earthquakes,the disastrous tsunami in Indonesia in 2004 -
tsunamis  and  volcanic  eruptions.include seaward of the mouths of the Ganges,
Nile and Amazon rivers, as well as much of
Consider this: a cubic meter of ice weighsthe Atlantic and US coast (E. G. Nisbet,
nearly a ton and some glaciers are kilometers2004.)
thick. This prodigious weight acts to
suppress tectonic movements in the underlyingEven the shape of the Earth appears to have
crust, and plug cracks where volcanic magmabeen significantly influenced by climate
might otherwise escape to the surface. Whenevents due to changes in the mass of water
the weight is removed through melting, thestored in oceans, continents and atmosphere.
suppressed strains and stresses of theSatellite data indicate the bulge in Earth's
underlying  rock  are  free  to come to life.gravity field at the equator is growing,
counteracting the long-term shrinking up to
As reported only this year, Harvard1998  due  to  post-glacial  rebound.
seismologist Göran Ekström has found a
striking increase in the frequency of glacialCurrent estimates of polar ice melting are
quakes, particularly in Greenland, but alsotoo small to explain the recent changes in
in  Alaska  and  Antarctica.the gravity field. Scientists postulate that
global warming-induced redistribution of
Greenland quakes have risen from 6 to 15 aexisting water mass is possibly behind the
year between 1993 and 2002, to 30 in 2003, 23phenomenon. However, the specific cause
in 2004 and 32 in the first 10 months ofstill  remains  a  mystery.
2005, closely matching the rise in
Greenland's temperatures over the sameDramatic climate shifts of the past have also
period. Their source was traced to surgesbeen associated with spectacular seismic
and slips within ice sheets, where rapidactivity. During the late glacial and early
melting is causing water to collect underHolocene periods when climate was see-sawing
glaciers, making them glide faster into thefrom one extreme to another in the interval
sea,  triggering  quakes.known as the Younger Dryas, submarine
landslips were widespread. For example,
Similarly, retreating glaciers in southern8,200 years ago an enormous slip in the
Alaska are likely to open the way for futureNorwegian Sea involving over 3000 cubic
earthquake  activity.kilometers of material set off a massive
tsunami more than 20 meters high. At about
Accelerated melting of glacial ice decreasesthe same time mega-earthquakes ruptured the
the load on the Earth's crust, therebycrust and lifted Scandinavia's mountain
decreasing the pressure holding volcanicbackbone by 5 to 15 meters. Could it happen
conduits closed. Already, we are seeingagain?
evidence of new volcanic activity in
Antarctica. A new, previously unknownThe science suggests that as redistribution
volcano has appeared on the sea bottom inof the Earth's mass induced by global warming
waters off the Antarctic Peninsula, in andisturbs the relative equilibrium of its
area with no previous record of volcaniccrust, monumental forces in the form of
activity. Investigations into a large areaincreasing earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic
of surface slumping on the West Antarctic Iceactivity could be unleashed. And the
Sheet revealed a huge accumulation of waterforecasts from some quarters are dramatic - -
underneath that has now been shown to be duenot only will the earth shake, it will spit
to an active volcano erupting under thefire (Bueckert, 2006).
sheet.



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