Earthquakes and Climate Change
Can climate change affect things thousands of miles deep in the ground?
Earthquakes are an increasingly common occurrence in many countries. When a big earthquake hits, it can be devastating, leveling entire cities and taking human lives. Yesterday, a magnitude six earthquake struck central California. Its tremors were felt from L.A. to Las Vegas. Over 200 aftershocks were recorded, and six lives were lost. So what is going on when the ground starts shaking beneath our feet?
The answer is quite deep. At around 3,000 to 4,000 miles beneath the surface, a boiling yet solid iron core flows. Right above this layer, we find the convecting mantle. While the convecting mantle is not molten, it can move given time. This critical layer drives convection currents, resulting in small movements within the Earth. The highest point of the mantle is quite chill and brittle, not nearly as hot as the core. On top of this layer is where the crust is located. It's this layer that we know the best. But unlike a smooth surface, the crust is comprised of tectonic plates sit upon the slowly flowing and moving mantle. Over time, these plates shift, sometimes pushing against each other. When two tectonic plates collide, earthquakes can be born. A sudden burst of stress is released in seismic waves that vibrate the grounds.
Because the earthquake formation process is below the Earth's surface, it seems unlikely that an event above the surface like climate change could have an impact. Instead, climate change can impact earthquakes. Dr. Bill McGuire, the author of "Waking the Giant: A Changing Climate," discusses the dangers of human activity on natural disasters. Specifically, he examines the Greenland ice sheets and similar areas of the Earth's crust. He notes that "We could see more earthquakes in Greenland in coming decades resulting from melting ice sheets." These massive, natural structures are rapidly decaying with recent rises in temperature.
Dr. McGuire suggests that the same will happen in Alaska, stressing that, "If man-made climate change continues to happen, then the earthquakes will get significantly worse due to the ice sheets melting and displacing tectonic plates." Previously, due to the high weight of ice sheets, the tectonic plates couldn't significantly shift. However, with ice sheets melting and moving, the tectonic plate paths are disturbed, and earthquakes more likely to occur. Aside from melting ice over the crust, NASA proposes that shocks increase with accelerated glacier movement due to climate change. They state, "Glacial earthquakes in Greenland peak in frequency in the summer months and have been steadily increasing over time, in response to global warming."
From this recent research, it is becoming more apparent that climate change will affect everything, even hundreds of miles beneath Earth's surface. While these findings may not be the cause of California's Earthquakes, it demonstrates the impact climate change is having on our land. To ensure these disasters don't continue to hasten, we must work hand-in-hand to limit our emissions. The temperatures will keep rising if we keep burning fossil fuels. And with these rising temperatures, more ice will melt. More melted ice equates to more disasters. Climate change is a vicious cycle that we must change now. It's even affecting the things thousands of miles below Earth's surface.