Abstract
Volcanic activity has frequently been linked to Quaternary environmental change, either by driving climate modification1,2 or in response to environmental changes3. Although a link has been established between large explosive eruptions and small (0.5 °C), brief (1–2 years) falls in global temperatures4, both the evidence and mechanisms responsible for longer episodes of eruption-induced planetary cooling remain questionable1,2,5,6. In contrast, recent research based on ice-core data suggests that rapid climate changes during the past 110,000 years increased explosive volcanic activity7. Here we present a statistical analysis relating the frequency of explosive activity of Mediterranean volcanoes — based on dated8,9,10,11 tephra layers in deep-sea sediment cores — to the rate of late Quaternary sea-level change. The nonlinear correlation between the two is tentatively explained in terms of dynamic responses of the volcanoes to stress-related influences on various spatial scales. The correlation supports a mechanism or mechanisms by which the climate-driven growth and decay of large ice sheets can influence the eruptive chronologies of distant volcanic edifices via changes in global sea level.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Commission of the European Communities, DG XII, Environment Programme, Climatology and Natural Hazards Unit.
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McGuire, W., Howarth, R., Firth, C. et al. Correlation between rate of sea-level change and frequency of explosive volcanism in the Mediterranean. Nature 389, 473–476 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/38998
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/38998
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