The unthinkable: Climate change-triggered earthquakes

As the climate warms, recent research has revealed an unsettling possibility: melting glaciers may awaken dormant faults, triggering earthquakes in regions long thought to be geologically stable. The immense weight of glaciers has suppressed seismic activity for years, but rising temperatures may unleash more frequent earthquakes. And no, this is not the plot of a hokey disaster movie — it is a real and growing concern underlining the far–reaching impacts of climate change.

Researchers Sean Gallen and Cecilia Hurtado at Colorado State University uncovered the connection between climate change and earthquakes while studying Southern Colorado’s Sangre De Cristo Mountains. This grand mountain range is located in the beautiful San Luis Valley. However, a hidden danger lies within the mountains: a massive fault system. These tectonic fractures formed over millions of years ago but still cause geologic vibrations in the region.

“As the climate warms, recent research has revealed an unsettling possibility: melting glaciers may awaken dormant faults, triggering earthquakes in regions long thought to be geologically stable.”

Above this fractured crust lies large glaciers. This phenomenon typically would not grab the attention of geological experts, for the glaciated regions would remain frozen over the fractures and not cause a potential hazard. However, due to rising global temperatures, alpine glaciers are melting at an alarming rate, greatly impacting fault activity below. In recent geologic history, earthquake frequency has increased fivefold compared to the pre-Glacial Maximum levels.

Gallen and Hurtado proposed that the removal of massive frozen glaciers would reduce the pressure on earthquake–prone faults, leading to increased seismic activity. Reducing the pressure exerted by the glaciers on the fractured crust could accelerate residual earthquakes in the short-term and further prevent more hazardous, global warming–induced seismic activity in the future.

To investigate this, the team developed an advanced computer model of the Sangre De Cristo Mountains, which included data obtained from high–resolution light detection and ranging. Satellite imagery was also used to accurately map the mountainous regions. To determine if the alpine glaciers present before melting truly suppressed earthquakes, the team compared the simulated region with real–world evidence. Gallen and Hurtado aimed to ascertain the connection between the presence of massive alpine glaciers and earthquake incidence.

While the Sangre De Cristo Mountains are relatively small and stable today, the implications of alpine glacial melting are far greater for larger mountain ranges such as the Andes or Himalayas. These regions are more tectonically active, so more future earthquakes caused by climate change will have detrimental effects.

Further research is needed to fully understand the potential of climate change–induced earthquakes in order to prepare for such disasters. This preliminary research lays the foundation for more work uncovering the intricacies between increasing global climate change and the prevalence of earthquakes. The climate crisis is not a distant threat; the ramifications are evident around the world, and will continue to intensify in the near future. With a better understanding of this phenomenon, various protective measures can be implemented to prepare for these devastating catastrophes.