Past drought” heat waves one fireworkIl global It causes many other natural disasters. In addition to this already long list, there are in fact also today I am earthquakes. A new study of a research team coordinated by the ETH of Zurich has in fact demonstrated how global warming, the dissolution of the dissolution of glaciers from the AlpsMakes water, infiltrates the substrate and exercise Busy The risk of earthquakes increases on errors. The studio was published in the magazine Letters of the earth and planetary science.
The damage of global warming
For years, the scientific community has known that the water, put under pressure by the weight of kilometers of Rock, plays a key role in the development of theseismic activity. When the water infiltrates the porous spaces of the rocks (percept), the extra pressure can in fact change the balance of the forces on the errors, causing this to be caused sliding. Although global warming can cause water in the soil by resolving mountain glaciers, this process has so far not been convincing and definitively connected to the development of earthquakes.
Earthquakes in the Alps
To find the final test of the connection between climate And earthquakes, the researchers focused on Great jarassesA group of peaks that are part of the massif of Mont BiancoWhere the highest mountains are found in West -Europe. From Seismic recordings, the team discovered that aheat wave From 2015 was responsible for a seismic swarm in that area. And although the shock They have not been harmful in themselves, we know that the chance of stronger earthquakes increases with the frequency of small. “This increases the risk“comment on Science The co-author of the study and seismologist Toni Kraft.
Seasonal trends
Moreover, a clear one has emerged from the analyzes Seasonal trend In the Alps: the small seismic swarms are increasing at the end estateAfter the melting water of the glaciers penetrates the rocks and reduces it again in early spring. To deepen this aspect and therefore understand whether global warming can play a role in this trend, the researchers have the data of the recordings of a high -quality seismometer, installed in 2006, about 13 kilometers south of Mont Blanc. In addition to a clear increase in size and from the frequency of earthquakes from 2015, after the fort heat waveThe researchers discovered that more intense heat waves seemed to lead to a greater risk of seismicityWith a year delay for surface -savings and two years for earthquakes up to a depth of 7 kilometers. “We assume that the system has reached a triggering point”Combined Verena Simon, the most important author of the study.
Beyond the Alps
“It is unlikely that I earthquakes caused by the climate threatens the nearby cities “, Kraft concluded and underlined that most infrastructures were built to withstand earthquakes from size 6. But if this same dynamic takes place beyond the Alps, such as theHimalayasThe scientific community will have to start taking this seriously into account.
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