It will be unprecedentedly powerful: the imminent eruption of hundreds of dormant volcanoes is predicted

Scientists warn that hundreds of dormant volcanoes could soon erupt, with explosions more powerful than ever before. A volcano in eruption is truly a force of nature. Molten rock, ash and gases from deep in the earth's mantle rise to the surface and either slowly leak out of a crack or are suddenly released into the air. There have been a number of high-profile eruptions in recent years, including in Italy and Indonesia. Now, experts are warning that hundreds of dormant volcanoes around the world are likely to become more active and erupt due to climate change.

Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the US have said that melting glaciers could be quietly setting the stage for more explosive and frequent eruptions in the future, the Daily Mail reports. And regions such as North America, New Zealand and Russia could be at risk, the scientists say.

"Glaciers typically reduce the eruptions of the volcanoes beneath them," said Pablo Moreno-Yeger, one of the study's authors. "But as glaciers retreat due to climate change, our results show that these volcanoes continue to erupt more frequently and more explosively."

His team used argon dating and crystal analysis of six volcanoes in southern Chile, including the now dormant Mocho-Choshuenco, to investigate how the advance and retreat of the Patagonian ice sheet affected the behavior of volcanoes in the past.

By precisely dating previous eruptions and analysing crystals in erupted rocks, the team traced how the weight and pressure of the ice sheet changed the characteristics of the underground magma.

Scientists have found that during the peak of the last ice age – about 26,000 to 18,000 years ago – a thick ice sheet limited the number of eruptions and allowed a large supply of magma to accumulate up to 15 km below the surface.

But, the Daily Mail continues, as the ice sheet melted rapidly at the end of the last Ice Age, the sudden loss of weight caused the Earth's crust to "relax" and gases in the magma to escape. This increase in pressure caused explosive volcanic eruptions from the deep reservoir.

“The key requirement for increased explosiveness is the presence of a very thick ice sheet above the magma chamber, and the trigger point comes when these glaciers begin to retreat, reducing the pressure, which is currently happening in places like Antarctica,” explains Pablo Moreno-Yeager.

“Our study,” the scientist notes, “shows that this phenomenon is not limited to Iceland, where increased volcanic activity is observed. Other continental regions, such as parts of North America, New Zealand and Russia, also now deserve closer scientific attention.”

The researchers explained that increased volcanic activity could have global climate impacts. In the short term, eruptions release aerosols that could temporarily cool the planet, as was the case after the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines, which lowered global temperatures by about 0.5°C.

However, with multiple eruptions, the effect changes to the opposite, the Daily Mail emphasizes.

“Over time, the cumulative effect of multiple eruptions can lead to long-term global warming due to the accumulation of greenhouse gases,” says Pablo Moreno-Yeger. “This creates a positive feedback loop where melting glaciers triggers eruptions, and eruptions can in turn contribute to further warming and melting.”