Andrew Hewitt
Co-Author, “The Power of Focus,
For College Students”
Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Long standing Costa Rican environmentalist, researcher and Founding Trustee Member of the Pax Natura Foundation, (www.paxnatura.org) Carlos Jimenez-Freer recently presented an alarming theoretical prediction/conclusion that uncovers missing evidence regarding the causes of global warming. His findings are based on recent natural events, environmental changes and findings that have taken place principally in Costa Rica since its deadly 1968 eruption of Arenal Volcano. Jimenez-Freer’s research and data, initially gathered in Central America and later supported by phenomenon in other areas of the world, point to a much more menacing outcome than the commonly communicated consequences of global warming. It is well known that the melting of the polar icecaps and numerous glaciers is an effect of global warming and that those warmer temperatures are generating more powerful hurricanes, monsoons and tornadoes, along with rising sea waters. However, these outcomes appear inconsequential compared to what Jimenez-Freer is placing forth as a prediction. Have we overlooked the worst of the disasters to come?

Jimenez-Freer points out that the rise in atmospheric temperatures will eventually cause a long term damaging effect to the earth’s crust (lithosphere) by reducing its thickness (girth) and weakening its protective capabilities. This fragile circumferential cover safeguards all life from the extreme temperatures present in the earth’s interior. The ice caps bear a significant amount of pressure upon the earth’s crust that help keep this protective cover cooler in both polar regions and beyond. The extreme weight (one ton per cubic meter) and the cold temperatures that the ice bears upon the crust assists in holding back the high interior earth temperatures and thus contribute immensely to the stability of the crust and its ability to support life on the earth.

The first signs of what may be the most destructive of all the natural disasters have been recently noticed. Jimenez-Freer is predicting that our current rate of global warming could cause the chain reactivation of long dormant or “extinct” volcanoes as well as an increase in the movement of the tectonic plates. This increase in Volcanic activity, as well as the faster shifting of the tectonic plates will bring stronger and more intense earthquakes, violent volcanic eruptions, fault line shifting and molten rock extrusions spanning over the next several dozen years. Those inner-earth effects will be felt somewhat later than the more immediate effects as the rising ocean levels and melting, breaking up of the ice caps and glaciers for that first effect will be noticed quicker than the slower less “reactionary” temperature process of upper lithosphere’s warming. The warmer atmospheric temperatures react on surface ice at a much quicker rate than what it will take the higher temperatures in penetrating and permeating into the Earth’s crust which is floating on the semi-molten asthenosphere of the mantle.

Using a regional example, Greenland had a range of 6 to 15 major quakes per year between the early 1990’s and the year 2002. Taken as a yearly average, the rate suddenly increased to an alarming 32 quakes per year in 2005, coinciding with the increase of Greenland's surface temperature. This trend is causing many kinds of erratic climatic changes, including currents flowing from the Pacific and Atlantic oceans into the Arctic Circle, which only escalate the warming of the waters. Increasing crust temperatures means increasing water temperatures at the bottom of the ocean, which will cause the Earth’s major oceanic currents to dramatically change their flow rate and course. Scientists there have found out recently that heat emanating from the mantle through the crust is now melting the underneath side of the Greenland Ice Caps at a faster rate than the higher atmospheric temperatures are at the surface because it was discovered that huge underground rivers are now flowing under the many kilometers thick ice existent in Greenland. Jimenez-Freer not only agrees with that notion, he relates the additional quickened pace of the melting of the ice caps to a “sandwich effect” now taking place between the Earth’s upper crust and the upper-surface of the ice caps by higher atmospheric temperatures.

Once the higher temperatures of the semi-molten rock mantle, known as the asthenosphere, begins to melt the underneath of the earth’s crust, a result of there being less resistance from a “warmer” topside lithosphere, this will allow extreme temperatures to penetrate further into the crust’s mid and upper circumferential areas. This will damage a layer that is an integral part of the protective buffer the crust provides which protects all life forms from the earth’s inner heat. Our crust will begin to slowly loose its current protective thickness allowing more molten rock material, gases and extremely high temperatures of the mantle’s magma to rise closer and closer towards the surface. The mantle, the outer core and particularly the solid inner core of our planet Earth, are the hottest substances known to man and any exposure to these substances will prove to be fatal for most life forms.

The thinning of our crust’s circumference will begin to speed up the rate of movement of earth’s tectonic plates, which will also quicken the rate of continental drift. This increasing rate of movement will cause more powerful, longer lasting and more destructive earthquakes, particularly along all the tectonic plate boundaries. The increased extrusion levels of molten material along the tectonic plate edges will cause added fractioning, faster slipping of the plates that will increase the opposing directional movement and frictional levels at the outer edges of the individual tectonic plates which will ultimately be devastating to the surface of the earth. The following analogy paints the picture.

The effect will be like placing a piece of solid wax between a heavy ceramic plate on the top and an electrical hot-plate underneath. Once you “turn on” the hot plate and the temperature begins to rise, it will start to heat up the wax and change its solidified state into a more liquid state beginning from the bottom of the wax upward. The heavy plate on top will begin to move, shift and slide more rapidly as the wax transforms the wax into a liquid state. The heavy ceramic plate will also warm up on the topside due to the increasing temperature of its surface much like what global warming is doing in the upper sides of our crust.

Global warming is most talked about in terms of increased atmospheric temperatures, however, when you consider that the lithosphere of the earth is also warming, not only does this cause a direct increase in temperatures, it also has a significant impact on ocean temperatures as well. This is another “sandwich style” temperature attack on the entire ocean mass as it is also to the ice caps. There will be a noticeable change in atmospheric climatic conditions on the surface of the oceans, as well at the ocean floor. This will affect land mass by causing more excessive flooding, an increase of rainfall, more moisture in deserts and even create new desert areas where tropical rain forests once stood. These are just a few of the side effects of the rapid rate of warming caused by both an increase in atmospheric temperature and an increase in the temperature of the earth’s upper crust.

Now that you better understand the momentous effect of warming lithosphere and atmosphere temperatures, let’s take a step back and view the larger cycle at play. The warming of the earth outer surface is part of a greater cycle that will eventually reach a climax. Think of it as a giant pendulum. The downward swing of the pendulum from left to right represents a heating cycle. While the opposite swing of the pendulum from right to left represents a cooling cycle. It’s obvious that we are now in a heating cycle (left to right) and it can be predicted that the pendulum is at about ¼ of the way into its heating downward swing. Therefore, we can expect the earth to get even warmer at an exponential rate as the pendulum continues to build momentum on its downward swing. As the pendulum swings through the mid-point and reaches a ¾ point of its way towards reaching its highest point, we can expect volcanic and tectonic activity to reach maximum levels.

The pendulum will eventually reach its zenith point, representing the hottest temperature the earth will experience. Upon reaching this maximum level of atmosphere and lithosphere temperature, the earth will have experienced erupted volcanoes, exploding volcanoes, warmer oceans and shifting tectonic plates, which will have sent tons and tons of added ash, volcanic dust, smoke, gasses, steam and a heavy cloud cover into the earth’s upper atmosphere. What results is that will stop the pendulum’s upward swing and will trigger the start of the cooling cycle of the pendulum.

The sun’s rays will be blocked and reflected off the globe by the added particle debris in the upper atmosphere and the lack of sun rays will prompt the earth to begin a cooling down cycle at an exponential rate and eventually freeze the lithospheres’ surface simulating what occurred just before the last known Ice Age. The cooling down period, signified in comparison by the downward swing of the pendulum from right to left, will begin the next Ice Age. This “darkening period” will carry on for several dozens or maybe hundreds of years in stimulating and consolidating the eventual coming era of ice.

Present and future researchers should begin noticing that many of our planet’s volcanoes will intensify their activity due to increasing internal temperatures. These higher temperatures are now present at the undersides of the crust and indicate that the mantle’s magma is now rising. This global rise of magmaic material could potentially reactivate many long dormant or even “extinct” volcanoes as stated before as well as create new volcanoes over the next 10-20 years. Such is the case of the Turrialba Volcano in Costa Rica that as recently as 2006 was still considered a long dormant and almost extinct cone. The recent increase in activity of the Poas Volcano near Costa Rica’s capital city of San Jose, and that of the Rincon de La Vieja Volcano located in the northern province of Guanacaste, has scientists worried—particularly due to the high tourist traffic of those areas. Park authorities have even been prompted to close these sites on several occasions as of late. The rising temperatures of many of these volcanoes’ secondary cones, fumarola vents, gas vents and mud pots, as well as increased geyser activity and gases, are notable. The number one tourist attraction in Costa Rica, Arenal Volcano, is a reminder of what’s possible, for prior to its eruption in 1968, Arenal was considered a mountain and not a volcano at all as it secretly laid “extinct” for thousands of years.

One of the many examples outside of Costa Rica is the Son (Anak) of Krakatoa near Java. It is rising over the remains of the infamous Krakatoa Volcano that caused one of the most devastating disasters and powerful explosions in recent times. Krakatoa may just be the most destructive and verifiable explosion in recorded history. It would only be trumped by the infamous Yellowstone Volcano, which researchers say violently erupted constantly over several thousands of years and has been dated to have disappeared some 600,000 years ago. Yellowstone National Park is the evidence that this volcano had its origins deep within the mantle area. Krakatoa was more devastating than Mt. St. Helens and Vesuvius put together; known as the volcano that destroyed itself and its island in one single tremendous eruption. The famous Krakatoa event of August 27, 1883 has been calculated to be the biggest explosion ever witnessed and the bang it produced was heard over 3000 miles away. It killed more than 36,000 people and destroyed more than 75% of its island mass, literally blowing five cubic miles of land to pieces. The cataclysm affected weather on a world-wide scale and included an around the globe title wave which initially measured at over 150 feet high. The population around the general area of Anak Krakatoa now stands in the millions instead of just a few thousand in the year of 1883.
This new volcanic island, Son of Krakatoa, is emerging from the sea as the fastest growing volcano in the world in taking its predecessor’s place. The rate of growth is almost 4 times of what it took “Papa” Krakatoa to form over an even earlier volcano (Grandpa?) which had also exploded several thousands of years ago and created the ocean strait between Java and Sumatra. There will be more such events over the next century and within a much shorter time frame then what these yesteryear volcanic events took. Keep your eyes open (or those of your children) for what the eventual reaction of Anak Krakatoa will be in the near future, as it’s now growing at a rate of 400 feet in elevation every 10 years. The alarming fact is that it is deemed to be a massive “throat” volcano as Papa and Grandpa were and this classification is making it once again, explosive.
Jimenez-Freer considers that the initial and potentially cataclysmic events will continue to keep pace with rising crust temperature, this prediction theory proposal should awaken the interest of the scientific community’s research and study programs around the world. A priority should be set forth to gather more data and redirect existing monitoring to include the change and increased of activity within the earth’s asthenosphere of the mantle. According to Jimenez-Freer’s article, the predicted signs will begin to be more and more evident as the earth warms over the next 5 to 10 years. The eventual devastation predicted by this theoretical proposal will take many years to confirm or to be disproved. Time will be the best test as to whether this author’s theoretical proposal is correct.

Global warming is an environmental issue that is facing each and every one of us right now, and more importantly future generations. As this theoretical proposal illustrates, the rising atmospheric temperatures address only one component of the global warming crisis. The most important evidence may be hidden beneath our feet.*

Andrew Hewitt
September 20th, 2009
*A comment based on the chapter:“The Coming Era of Fire” of the soon to be published book “The Three Spheres” by Carlos Jimenez-Freer