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Scientists Discover 91 Volcanoes Below Antarctic Ice Sheet (theguardian.com)

Reader schwit1 writes: 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. This is in addition to 47 already known about and eruption would melt more ice in region affected by climate change, the report added. 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.

3 of 181 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Domino effect by 110010001000 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Or it could be that the volcanoes are more active recently and thus recently lost their glacier covering. Nah! Couldn't be. Must be the opposite. We know everything about why the ice sheets are melting. Yet we didn't know that there were 91 volcanoes underneath them apparently.

  2. Re:Worry worry worry by Dunbal · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This is typical of climate change types. They single out Alaska and Iceland to justify their theory and then neglect to mention that Iceland is a brand new (geologically speaking) island formed through vulcanism, so actually the volcanoes pre-date galciers on iceland - and Alaska sits on the pacific ring of fire so there's no surprise about volcanic activity there in an active tectonic region. There is little to no evidence that melting glaciers affect volcanic activity. If a bunch of superheated steam and molten rock can squirt it's way up all the way from the mantle it's not the last km of ice (which is much easier to melt than rock) that will stop it.

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  3. Chicken, or the Egg? by sycodon · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Which came first?

    It is very well possible that geothermal activitie at the base of these ice sheets is responsible to the degradation of the ice sheet, no?

    You don't need a volcano to erupt to melt ice.

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    When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.