An unexpected statement by Russian scientists: the sharp melting of the Arctic provoked an earthquake

A new seismogenic hypothesis was put forward by geophysicists from the Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology

The dramatic climate warming in the Arctic in 1979-1980 was due to a series of catastrophic earthquakes. To such a sensational conclusion, contrary to the popular “anthropogenic factor”, a group of scientists led by Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Leopold Lobkovsky came. The trigger or trigger of the warming process, according to researchers, was precisely the tectonic waves that originated in the middle of the last century in the Aleutian zone of interaction of lithospheric plates closest to the Arctic shelf.

The polar regions are where global climate change is most visible. Until now, one of the main versions connects them with the carbon footprint of the industry. The world community is trying to fight it by introducing quotas and restrictions, by introducing carbon-free technologies. But there are many scientific groups that do not agree with the anthropogenic concept of global warming.

For example, the manifesto of the international independent fund Global Climate Intelligence Group was recently released under the title: “There is no climate emergency”. The manifesto was signed by more than 1200 scientists and experts from all over the world. They provide evidence that the known climate models are imperfect, and therefore cannot be relied upon when making economic and political decisions.

Meanwhile, there are alternative versions of the causes of global climate change. One of them was the seismogenic hypothesis of Russian geophysicists from the Institute of Oceanology. P. P. Shirshov RAS, Tomsk State University, Laboratory for Geophysical Research of the Arctic and Continental Margins of the World Ocean MIPT, Institute of Earthquake Prediction Theory and Mathematical Geophysics RAS, Institute of Geothermal Research and Renewable Energy Sources RAS (Makhachkala), and Institute of Geosphere Dynamics RAS.

The geodynamic concept proposed by them (the work was carried out with the partial support of the Russian Science Foundation) explains the sharp start of warming in the polar zone in 1979–1980 precisely by the “shock” effect of tectonic waves caused by catastrophic earthquakes.

According to academician Lobkovsky, the process is related to the strongest earthquakes in the Aleutian subduction zone closest to the Arctic shelf (a linear zone at the boundary of lithospheric plates, along which some blocks of the earth’s crust submerge under others). These earthquakes occurred in the Aleutian arc in the middle of the last century from 1957 to 1965. The waves generated by earthquakes propagated in a horizontal direction at a speed of about 100 km per year, and in 20 years they could just overcome 2000 km and reach the Arctic shelf.

Further, the deformation waves destroyed the gas hydrates located in the frozen rocks of the Arctic shelf, and the methane released from them created a strong greenhouse effect, which led to noticeable warming. The researchers cite a similar mechanism of methane emissions in the area of ​​adjacent land as an example. For example, it is he who explains the numerous craters in the tundra, like Yamal.

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Meanwhile, according to geophysicists, a similar “seismogenic-trigger” mechanism could cause a phase of anomalous warming in Antarctica (it happened almost simultaneously with the Arctic one). Here, the most powerful earthquake in 1960 in the central part of the Chilean zone could serve as an impetus. Its magnitude was 9.5. As a result, there could be a noticeable increase in temperature in Antarctica and the melting of many glaciers, such as the Larsen glaciers, the Wilkins and George VI glaciers, the Ross Sea glacier and others.

The proposed geodynamic hypothesis, according to Leopold Lobkovsky, makes it possible to reconsider economic and political decisions that can hinder the development of the economy of resource-producing countries, which include Russia, China, and a number of countries in the Middle East.