Enhanced Seismic Activity Observed in Alaska Due To Climate Change

I suspected that melting of sea ice could affect earthquakes.

http://climatestate.com/2019/06/06/enhanced-seismic-activity-observed-due-to-climate-change/?fbclid=IwAR1qVmJaJbM1vhWQm1KxDWR6RzE2r8Cz_E7X9bL3o4p_QLY7elImZBNRbeE

June 6, 2019

With news breaking that Alaska just had its warmest March to May on record with a statewide average temperature of 32.6°F, 8.6°F above the long-term average – the previous warmest spring in Alaska was in 2016, one must ask how this performs in relation to seismicity.

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Permafrost in Siberia and Alaska has started to thaw for the first time since it formed 11,000 years ago, has caused by the recent rise in temperature over the past six decades. The melting rate of glaciers has become significantly higher, causing a noticeable rise (0.19meters) in the sea level globally. Climate change can trigger catastrophes such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis and landslides due to melting glaciers and rising in sea level. The melting of glaciers driven by global warming warns us of a seismically turbulent future. When glaciers melt, the massive weight on the Earth’s crust reduces and the crust bounces back in what scientists call an “isostatic rebound“. The process can reactivate faults and lift pressure on magma chambers that feed volcanoes, hence increases seismic activity.

The author further writes..

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Earthquake behaviour is chaotic and skills for forecasting them are limited, however the rise in the frequency of small earthquakes is arguable as glaciers melt and sea level rises. Due to tremendous increase in the low magnitude earthquake records since 21st century beginning, the correlation coefficient between temperature and minor earthquakes was expected to be the strongest among all others, however interestingly, it is not even significant which reflects the technological progression of recent seismic station network expansion by USArray all over U.S.

On the other hand, rise in temperature showed a strong positive correlation with moderate earthquake records, whereas its significant correlation with major earthquakes at P < 0.12 (medium confidence) was totally a surprise. Furthermore, a combined effect of both moderate and major earthquakes was also considered against the temperature variations that startlingly represented even greater correlation value r than its value for moderate earthquakes which warns that the rate of isostatic rebound driven by melting glaciers due to regional rise in temperature of Alaska has become high enough to influence the subsurface tectonic plates and can yield both moderate and major earthquakes by reactivating the subsurface faults.

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