Scientists discover 91 volcanoes below Antarctic ice sheet

[bigwave]

Scientists Discover 91 Volcanoes Below Antarctic Ice Sheet

This is in addition to 47 already known about and eruption would melt more ice in region affected by climate change.

 

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.

FOR THE REST OF THE ARTICLE:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/12/scientists-discover-91-volcanos-antarctica

 

 

 

 

[bostonangler]

I just saw a documentary where they were under the ice in caves and it was 72 degrees... Pretty amazing.

B/A

[8th ID]

It would be pretty neat to make a trip there at least once.