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First Evidence Of Under-Ice Volcanoes In Antarctica

Posted by Zonk on from the a-touch-extreme dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The first evidence of a volcanic eruption from beneath Antarctica's ice sheet has been discovered by members of the British Antarctic Survey. The volcano on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet began erupting some 2,000 years ago and remains active to this day. Using airborne ice-sounding radar, scientists discovered a layer of ash produced by a 'subglacial' volcano. It extends across an area larger than Wales."

2 of 186 comments (clear)

  1. You missed a part of TA. by VON-MAN · · Score: 3, Informative

    it (the eruption) cannot explain the more widespread thinning of West Antarctic glaciers that together are contributing nearly 0.2mm per year to sea-level rise. This wider change most probably has its origin in warming ocean waters.
  2. Re:Oh well, screw global warming by Chrisq · · Score: 3, Informative

    Even a 1M rise is not good news for Denmark see map, or many places in the USA like New orleans or even Sacramento.