Volcanoes prefer winter

2004/05/10 Elhuyar Zientzia

• Geologia

A group of geologists wanted to respond to the old concern about the causes of volcanic eruptions. A statistical study of the eruptions that have occurred around the world over the past 300 years has found that northern hemisphere winters are more active. This trend is, moreover, especially evident in the Pacific.

Among the causes it is found that changes in sea level can have a lot to see. And, as the northern hemisphere has more land, in winter there is more snow and hidden rain on the continents. This causes a small but stable change in sea level, which can be the cause of the eruptions.

Compared to long-term data, it is observed that in the world there have been more eruptions in the face of rapid sea level changes, such as glaciations.