Sea-Floor Volcanoes Play a Bigger Role in Earth's Climate Than Previously Thought (STA BREAKING NEWS and ARCHIVES)

by Theresa , Friday, February 06, 2015, 17:26

Sea-floor volcanoes — eruptions at the bottom of the ocean typically thought of as slow, steady occurrences — actually pop up in bursts and play an integral role in climate variations, new research suggests.

The eruptions — which create new sea floor along 37,000 miles of active mid-ocean ridges — flare up in cycles, in tandem with the rise and fall of sea levels, says the study, published in Geophysical Research Letters and authored by Maya Tolstoy of Columbia University's Earth Institute. Previously, said Tolstoy, such underwater activity was not factored into models of the Earth's climate system which are used to project future oceanic and atmospheric conditions.

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