Seismologiststs warn of volcanic eruption caused by N. Korean nuclear tests

A team of South Korean experts warned Wednesday that if an intensified North Korean nuclear test causes an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 or stronger, it may trigger a volcanic eruption of Mount Baekdu, a volcano on the border between North Korea and China situated close to the test site.

Hong Tae-kyung, a professor of seismology at Yonsei University, said in a paper that his team simulated possible impacts of the North's three previous nuclear tests conducted between 2006 and 2013 on Mount Baekdu's magma chamber. The seismologist said that an earthquake measuring 7.0 or higher on the Richter scale caused by a powerful nuclear test could cause 120 kilopascals of overpressure in the magma chamber and cause a volcanic eruption. The paper was published in the Scientific Reports, a sister of journal Nature on Wednesday.

The strongest earthquake ever measured on the Korean Peninsula had a magnitude of 5.2, while the quake that hit eastern Japan in March 2011 measured 9.0.

North Korea's four nuclear tests caused artificial earthquakes with magnitudes of 4 to 5. "While the current levels of nuclear tests have not caused Mount Baekdu to erupt, the magma's movement under the volcano could react sensitively to the North's nuclear tests," he said.

The highest peak on the Korean Peninsula has been dormant since its last eruption in 1903. In recent years, however, there have been signs of a volcanic eruption as volcanic earthquakes have increased at 2 to 5 kilometers under Mount Baekdu's crater lake and the temperatures of hot springs in the area have risen.

신선미동아사이언스기자 vamie@donga.com