Climate Change Causes Volcanism Tia Ghose, LiveScience Staff Writer The rapid rise in sea levels could cause a dramatic increase in volcanic eruptions, according to a new study. The study, published in the journal Geology, found that during periods of rapid climactic change over the last million years, the rapid melting of continental glaciers and the resulting sea level rise eventually increased volcanic eruptions as much as tenfold. "Everybody knows that volcanoes have an impact on climate," said study co-author Marion Jegen, a geophysicist at Geomar in Germany. "What we found was just the opposite."

This news could have serious consequences all over the globe in areas that have active and dormant volcanoes.

The Pacific Northwest has a string of active and dormant Cascade Volcanoes that run from Mount Baker near the Canadian border south to Mount Shasta in Northern California. Mt. Rainier and Mount Hood are looming above two megalopolises containing dozens of cities that could be at risk.

I live in Washington and around here locals can remember the catastrophic eruption of Mount St Helens in 1980. I was fortunate to watch the ash cloud streaming out of the eruption from over 100 miles away.