earthquake and volcano coincidence?

[mdsnowlover]

Is there any conncection between the earthquake and now volcano erupting in italy?? Will the volcano affect our winter weather this year/? Very interesting developments in europe.

[eurojosh]

No, there is no proven causal relationship between earthquakes and volcanos (though if one is about to go off I suppose it could be pushed over the top).

Etna (in Italy) has been in a state of continuous disruption for decades and poses no threat to the climate.

If you're really looking out for something more exciting, check el Hierro in the Canary Islands, Katla in Iceland (which could plausibly affect climate) and Tambora in Indonesia (ditto, but less likely to blow).

The best site for informed discussion about all of these is http://www.jonfr.com/volcano/

[aslkahuna]

Some believe that the MM7.8 Central Luzon earthquake of July 1990 set the stage for the Pinatubo eruption which began to simmer in April 1991. There are lots of volcanic tremors (some fairly stiff) that occur in the initial phases or a developing eruption and of course there are the harmonic tremors immediately preceeding and during the eruption. However connecting the Turkish quake and the Etna eruption is a bit of a stretch. I would expect that any aruptive activity at Tambora would be more of a cone or dome building one rather than a paroxsymal one.

Steve

[RodneyS]

According to the United States Geological Survey, this is a complex subject:

"There are a few examples in the historical record that suggest a connection between large earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, but even these, on close inspection, do not show a simple causative relationship . . .

"There is clear evidence that large, distant earthquakes can, and do, trigger swarms of small earthquakes in active hydrothermal systems, such as those in Yellowstone and Long Valley calderas. This phenomenon has been observed at many volcanoes following large earthquakes; the M7.9 Denali Fault earthquake in Alaska is a good example. However, small earthquake swarms such as these are typically only recorded by sensitive seismic instrumentation and certainly do not fall into the category of an eruption.

"Conversely, volcanic activity is known to trigger earthquakes. For example, swarms of small earthquakes, rarely larger than M5, can accompany the upward movement of magma through the Earth's crust. Also, large volumes of magma that rise from deep within the lower crust to shallower depths are thought to perturb the stress field around a volcano, possibly triggering small earthquakes up to 25 km away.

"In conclusion, while it is possible that large earthquakes can trigger volcanic eruption in some cases, this connection is not well understood and as such not very useful for predicting the behavior of volcanoes. Data from well-designed local volcano monitoring networks remain the only reliable means for detecting volcanic unrest and forecasting volcanic activity."

See http://volcanoes.usg...t/faq/faqeq.php