This is in addition to 47 already known about and eruption would melt more ice in region affected by climate change
This is in addition to 47 already known about and eruption would melt more ice in region affected by climate change
Saturday 12 August 2017 18.11 EDT Last modified on Saturday 12 August 2017 20.08 EDT
Scientists have uncovered the largest volcanic region on Earth – two kilometres below the surface of the vast ice sheet that covers west Antarctica.
The project, by Edinburgh University researchers, has revealed almost 100 volcanoes – with the highest as tall as the Eiger, which stands at almost 4,000 metres in Switzerland.
Geologists say this huge region is likely to dwarf that of east Africa’s volcanic ridge, currently rated the densest concentration of volcanoes in the world.
And the activity of this range could have worrying consequences, they have warned. “If one of these volcanoes were to erupt it could further destabilise west Antarctica’s ice sheets,” said glacier expert Robert Bingham, one of the paper’s authors. “Anything that causes the melting of ice – which an eruption certainly would – is likely to speed up the flow of ice into the sea.
“The big question is: how active are these volcanoes? That is something we need to determine as quickly as possible.”
The Edinburgh volcano survey, reported in the Geological Society’s special publications series, involved studying the underside of the west Antarctica ice sheet for hidden peaks of basalt rock similar to those produced by the region’s other volcanoes. Their tips actually lie above the ice and have been spotted by polar explorers over the past century.
But how many lie below the ice? This question was originally asked by the team’s youngest member, Max Van Wyk de Vries, an undergraduate at the university’s school of geosciences and a self-confessed volcano fanatic. He set up the project with the help of Bingham. Their study involved analysing measurements made by previous surveys, which involved the use of ice-penetrating radar, carried either by planes or land vehicles, to survey strips of the west Antarctic ice.
The results were then compared with satellite and database records and geological information from other aerial surveys. “Essentially, we were looking for evidence of volcanic cones sticking up into the ice,” Bingham said.
After the team had collated the results, it reported a staggering 91 previously unknown volcanoes, adding to the 47 others that had been discovered over the previous century of exploring the region.
These newly discovered volcanoes range in height from 100 to 3,850 metres. All are covered in ice, which sometimes lies in layers that are more than 4km thick in the region. These active peaks are concentrated in a region known as the west Antarctic rift system, which stretches 3,500km from Antarctica’s Ross ice shelf to the Antarctic peninsula.
HT/Gary Meyers
UPDATE 8/14/17 8:39 Pacific time.
The Mail has gotten into the story and of course these volcanoes may actually be being exacerbated by the dreaded Climate Change thingy.
Dr Bingham’s fear is that the Antarctic ocean’s meltwater outflows will cause sea levels to rise.
‘We just don’t know about how active these volcanoes have been in the past.
‘The most volcanism that is going in the world at present is in regions that have only recently lost their glacier covering – after the end of the last ice age. These places include Iceland and Alaska.
‘Theory suggests that this is occurring because, without ice sheets on top of them, there is a release of pressure on the regions’ volcanoes and they become more active.’
Significant warming caused by climate change in west Antarctica has already affected its ice sheets.
If they reduce significantly, this could release pressure on volcanoes lying below.
This would lead to eruptions that could further destabilise ice sheets and enhance sea level rises, something Dr Bingham is keen to monitor.
‘It is something we will have to watch closely.
Read the full Daily Mail story here.
HT/lewispbuckingham
Someone please correct me if I am wrong, but I recall (from about 20-25 years ago) that Science News Magazine had an article about the discovery of a large number of active volcanoes beneath the Antarctic “Ice Stream” of rapidly moving glaciers- the center of which was moving at about one meter per day. The discovery was supposedly made by a deep radar device installed on a space shuttle that was able to peer beneath the ice sheets.
Speculation in the article was that if a large number of volcanoes erupted at the same time, the entire ice stream would empty into the oceans, causing a rise in the sea level of about 1-2 meters worldwide.
No CAGW required, thank you…
“would melt more ice in region affected by climate change” would imply that volcanoes melt more ice after discovery than before they are discovered. Research has long indicated that geothermal heat was a primary cause of loss of ice in west Antarctica.
This was such a no-brainer.
“Two new studies have found the fastest ongoing rates of glacier retreat ever observed in West Antarctica and offer an unprecedented look at ice melting on the floating undersides of glaciers. ”
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/10/161025113327.htm
Hmmm, same area and possibly where the tops of the volcanos could be making contact with the bottom of the glaciers… Sure it’s caused by deadly plant and tree food and that the location and contact areas are just a coincidence… 😉
Look for news reports to report this as “previously thought” instead of writing that peer reviewed science studies were wrong…
Climate communications 101…
Maybe they should expand the scope of their investigations. Seems to me that the Antarctic isn’t the only polar region that’s volcanically active.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/06/080626-arctic-volcano.html
https://www.livescience.com/4992-volcanoes-erupt-beneath-arctic-ice.html
https://www.iceagenow.info/arctic-seafloor-afire-lava-spewing-volcanoes/
I went to that Daily Mail story but still havn’t read it as I was distracted by the cornucopia of half naked females adorning all of their pages (seemingly one body for each of the newly discovered volcanoes).
WOW! The Daily Mail certainly has turned into gutter trash!
Okay so if they do blow up real good then lots of ice will become water vapor and go into the atmosphere. Now would you get short term cooling followed by long term warming? Does water vapor reside in the atmosphere longer than other volcanic aerosols?
I need a grant. A nice big juicy grant to look into this!
“Staggering” – 91 Volcanoes. Common belief is that there could be up to one million submarine Volcanoes. Now if 91 concern these guys then imagine??????
Concider it as a barrier for the collapsing ice. It is hard to flow over or between mountains.
“The big question is: how active are these volcanoes? That is something we need to determine as quickly as possible.”
So we can do what?
These new volcanoes provide additional anchoring points for the ice atop them, reducing the chances of it all swiftly flowing away.
Might also be volcanism under Arctic sea ice, ignited by the movement of the North Magnetic Pole since 1979:
http://www.maritime-executive.com/features/Are-Undersea-Volcanoes-a-Cause-of-Melting-Sea-Ice-2014-09-11