Underwater Volcanoes Linked to Climate Change in New Study
By Zain Haidar
February 10, 2015
Underwater volcanoes could have a long-term effect on Earth's climate cycles.
A new study out of Columbia University shows that these hidden giants are not only tied to the Earth's orbit and tidal cycles, but also trigger climate swings.
(MORE: 25 Incredible Landscapes Shaped by Volcanoes)
“People have ignored seafloor volcanoes on the idea that their influence is small—but that’s because they are assumed to be in a steady state, which they’re not,” marine geophysicist Maya Tolstoy, the study's author, said in a statement.
The study, published recently in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, shows that underwater volcanoes defy expectations and erupt in bursts rather than a slow pace.
But that's not all.
Analyzing 25 years of seismic data from submarine volcanoes, Tolstoy and her team found that underwater volcanism affects the climate by emitting varying levels of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, then, could trigger a cycle of global warming.
While the link between marine volcanism and global climate cycles is not definite, the study opens the way for other scientists to explore the relationship between the Earth's crust and the ozone layer.
Currently erupting
WHAT'S ERUPTING? LIST & MAP OF CURRENTLY ACTIVE VOLCANOES
Europe and Atlantic Ocean:
Iceland:
Africa and Indian Ocean:
Indonesia:
| Aleutians, Alaska and North America:
Mexico, Central America and Carribean:
South America:
Other regions: | Pacific Ocean:
Ring of Fire (Kurile Islands to Philippines):
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