Melting Antarctica ice could 'awaken' more than 100 submarine volcanoes

More than 100 submarine volcanoes are lurking beneath the surface of Antarctica, so melting ice on the continent could wake these 'monsters'.

Erebus volcano in Antarctica

photo: north pole america program

The slow effects of global warming may be happening quietly beneath the thick ice of Antarctica. The continent is home to several giant volcanoes, such as Mount Erebus and its famous lava lake.

But at least 100 other volcanoes lie hidden in Antarctica, with many clustered along the continent’s western shore. Some tower above the surface, but others lie beneath the Antarctic ice sheet, Live Science reported on January 7.

Climate change is melting the Antarctic ice sheet and causing sea levels to rise. Melting ice also releases the weight of the region’s rock layers, causing localized consequences.

Specifically, melting ice has been shown to increase the activity of subglacial volcanoes in other parts of the world .

Coonin et al. ran 4,000 computer simulations to study how melting Antarctic ice would affect the volcanoes beneath it. The results showed that this could increase the frequency and size of eruptions from beneath the ice shelf.

This is because the loss of ice weight reduces pressure on lava reservoirs below the surface, causing more lava to accumulate. More lava puts more pressure on the walls of the reservoir, leading to an eruption.

The authors of the report stress that the process is slow, taking hundreds of years to complete. The finding means that the lava buildup will continue even as the world moves toward stopping warming at alarming rates, meaning keeping it below 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/bang-tan-nam-cuc-co-the-danh-thuc-hon-100-nui-lua-ngam-185250107103035194.htm