Humanity is subject to new dangers. Climate change

Climate change will change the world as we know it today. Changes in sea level and melting glaciers could increase the likelihood of earthquakes in the coming years. Earthquakes are one of the most mysterious and terrifying natural disasters.

While we have an idea of ​​when the biggest ones are likely to happen, others are seemingly out of whack. They destroy cities and create secondary disasters such as fires, landslides and tsunamis. Climate change is causing an increase in wildfires and other natural disasters such as hurricanes. Does that cause frequent earthquakes?

Climate change may increase the likelihood of earthquakes

The largest and most dangerous type of earthquake is the tectonic earthquake. These earthquakes are caused by flat tectonics, the massive plates of rock that make up the Earth’s crust and upper mantle. Heat radiated from deep within the planet causes these plates to move an average of 1.5 centimeters per year. Pressure builds up in these areas until a breaking point is reached where the plates suddenly move. Thus, they release energy that can cause an earthquake.

Unlike other disasters, it is almost impossible to predict when earthquakes will occur. This makes planned evacuations almost impossible

Unfortunately, climate change may cause earthquakes to occur closer together and with greater intensity. Due to global warming, the glaciers are melting more and more. When meltwater from glaciers seeps out of the land and reaches the ocean. The ground beneath it is rising, said John Cassidy, an earthquake seismologist at the Geological Survey of Canada. When this happens, pressure differences can suddenly trigger previously dormant faults. Cassidy explained that this is how earthquakes happen.

Sea level rise

Even more worrisome than earthquakes are the melting glaciers that could be caused by rising sea levels. Along with its increase, the underwater pressure on the seafloor also rises, said Marco Bonhoff, a geophysicist at the GFZ Helmholtz Center Potsdam. As the water pressure increases, the pressure on fault lines near the coast increases.

“Many earthquakes are at the end of their seismic cycles, including those predicted to occur near San Francisco and Los Angeles in the next few decades,” Bohnhoff said. “That would be enough to trigger earthquakes in many places,” the expert said.

Even if we stopped using greenhouse gases now, it would take up to 1,000 years to stop sea level rise. During this time, Bohnhoff predicts that the interval between large coastal earthquakes will be shorter.

It took centuries to prove this prediction. Therefore, Bohnhoff’s research was mainly based on existing models. For example, scientists have modeled the rise and fall of water levels in the Salton Sea over the past 1,000 years. It is an inland body of water about 130 kilometers northeast of San Diego. When the lake filled, experts found that more earthquakes occurred along the nearby San Andreas Fault.

Tsunami, Landslide, Torrential Rain

Cassidy isn’t sure if the pressure from rising sea levels will cause a big enough change to make these giant earthquakes happen more quickly, at least in our lifetime. When they do happen, he points out, climate change will make them more dangerous.

Earthquake-triggered tsunamis reach further inland as sea levels rise. Warmer oceans lead to more precipitation. This increases the risk of earthquake-induced landslides. Because vibrations in wet soil are amplified more than in dry soil, rain can make earthquakes more pronounced. But then again, we won’t know exactly what’s going to happen until it happens, and according to Cassidy, there’s still a lot we need to find out.

“This is an important topic, and I’m sure we’ll see a lot more information in the coming months and years. But regardless of what we find, it’s not good news,” the expert said, according to the report. Direct science .