Climate change could lead to an increase in volcanic eruptions, according to a new study presented at the Goldschmidt Conference in Prague and set to be peer reviewed later this year. Rapidly warming temperatures are causing glaciers to melt, unearthing hidden volcanoes. "Hundreds of dormant subglacial volcanoes worldwide, particularly in Antarctica," could become "more active as climate change accelerates glacier retreat," said a release about the study.
The "thick ice caps act as lids on volcanoes," said Inside Climate News. But once that weight is removed, there's no longer pressure on the magma chamber underneath, allowing for eruptions to occur. "When you take the load off, it's just like opening a Champagne bottle," Brad Singer, a geoscientist at the University of Wisconsin, said to Inside Climate News.
Increased volcanic activity will have detrimental effects on the global ecosystem. The cumulative effect of "multiple eruptions can contribute to long-term global warming because of a buildup of greenhouse gases," said Pablo Moreno-Yaeger, who presented the research at the conference. "This creates a positive feedback loop, in which melting glaciers trigger eruptions" and the eruptions "contribute to further warming and melting."
The world's glaciers are now melting faster than ever before. Over the past 10 years, "glacier losses were more than a third higher than during the period 2000-2011," said the BBC. Eruptions also "release sulfate aerosols that reflect sunlight back into space," said Live Science. This has led to "cooling events following past eruptions, some of which have triggered major famines." | 
