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There is earthquake activity around two supervolcanoes, one in North Korea and the other in the United States. Earthquake swarms in such areas can indicate magma movement, and scientists are studying both volcanoes. A thousand years ago the eruption of Mount Paektu in what is now North Korea was probably the largest in human history. The eruption of the Yellowstone Supervolcano would devastate the United States. In addition to these two restless supervolcanoes, large-scale earthquake activity is continuing. Like the meteor count Unknowncountry reported on earlier this week, the earthquake count has been rising worldwide for a number of years.
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Unexpectedly rapid melting of polar ice and glaciers between 2005 and 2011 caused a rise in global sea levels of another 2/3rds of an inch, according to a study just published in Nature Geoscience. Increased water pressure against continental shelves is known to lead to destabilization of faults as well as compression of magma deposits under volcanoes, and is related to increased seismic and volcanic activity. So far, sea levels have now risen 8 1/3rd inches worldwide since 1870, with the rate of annual increase steadily rising. At the same time, the amount of volcanic and earthquake activity around the Pacific Rim appears to have begun to increase as well. As ice melts, the balance of weight on the earth changes, releasing weight from melt areas and moving it into the oceans.read more

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Two volcanoes in Alaska and Popocatepetl in Mexico are either erupting or showing signs of activity. As sea levels continue to rise, putting pressure on continental shelves, predictions are that volcanic activity will also increase, as well as seismic activity. Whether or not earthquakes will follow the eruptions of these volcanoes is not known, but officials are concerned that plumes from the Alaskan volcanoes could endanger air travel from the US to Asia, and Mexican vulcanologists are watching Popo carefully, in expectation of a more significant and potentially dangerous level of activity.
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