Are Volcanoes and Earthquakes Related?
Just as thunder precedes lightning, earthquakes often foretell volcanic activity. Before Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano blew its top in April, spewing thick clouds of ash, the earth around it had already started rumbling, and geologists began warning about an impending eruption. “It’s very common for the two to be linked,” said Jonathan Snow, a volcanologist at the University of Houston. “Volcanic eruptions are usually preceded by earthquakes large and small.” In fact, Snow describes it as a “symbiotic” relationship. The close geological connection is rooted in the shifting of Earth’s tectonic plates against each other that can also jostle magma beneath volcanoes, urging it upward. In fact, since seismic shifts are so closely related to volcanic action, geologists listen in to the seismic movements around volcanically active regions to predict when earthquakes might spark volcanic eruptions. “Many of the active volcanoes in Cascades are literally wired for sound,” Snow said. Likewi
