There is quiet a bit of discussion around the net about the effect that Volcanoes have on global warming. However, what about the other way round? What about the effect that Global Warming will have on Volcanic Activity?
Imagine that you have a pot of soup simmering on the stove. Assume that the pot has no lid on it. Consider what will happen if you put a lid on the pot without reducing the heat. The soup will start to boil more and more vigorously and may even boil over.
If we think of the Earth's magma as the pot of soup and think of global warming as putting a lid on it you will see what I am getting at. Global warming may increase Volcanic Activity. It effectively increases the insulation on the Earth's Crust and therefore increases the heat insulation on the underlying magma. There will likely be a build up of heat and pressure with unforeseen consequences.
If we look at the Earth as a living (or a least self-balancing) system we can see why any impact that we have on the climate may be offset by the activity of the Earth itself at it responds to changes caused by our activity. An increase in Global Warming may cause more volcanic activity which could reduce the amount of global warming as all the dust thrown up into the upper atmosphere would reflect some of the suns rays away from the earth (though some say that volcanoes contribute to global warming by reducing the ozone layer). However, whatever the overall effect of volcanic activity, it could be argued that the problem is not so much one of Global Warming, but what the earth may do in order to prevent it happening.
