Decadal Timescale Correlations Between Global Earthquake Activity and Volcanic Eruption Rates

Abstract

Abstract At the global scale, large tectonic earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are believed to be random and independent events. Here, we compare global time‐series of large earthquakes (Mw≥ 7) and explosive volcanic eruptions (VEI ≥ 2) spanning 1960–2019. Both time‐series exhibit decadal timescale trends, over which annual earthquake and eruption rates vary by a factor of ∼2. Moreover, global seismic moment release is positively correlated with global eruption rate, with Monte Carlo permutation tests showing that this correlation is significant with a P‐value of 1000 km) by earthquake‐induced dynamic stress changes, modulation of global earthquake and eruption rates by variations in Earth's rotational velocity, or natural synchronization of events over repeating cycles, are therefore required to explain the correlation.