Scientists are studying hundreds of silent volcanoes hidden under thick and cold layers of ice in Antarctica and trying to estimate how likely they are to erupt. Less known is that the western ice sheet covering the continent is considered to be the largest volcanic field on Earth, containing approximately 138 volcanoes.
Of those volcanoes, geologists discovered 91 of them as part of a study that was conducted in 2017 and published in the journal Geological Society. Volcanoes come into existence on the Earth’s surface as an expression of hot matter emerging from its interior.
When studying volcanoes, scientists “were unable to distinguish whether they were active or not. Currently, two volcanoes on the continent are classified as active, which are Mount Erebus and Deception Island. Both of these are said to be the southernmost active volcanoes in the world.
Speaking to Live Science, Connor Bacon, a postdoctoral research scientist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University in New York, said, “Erebus, located at McMurdo Research Base on Scott Island, has been emitting continuously since at least 1972.
The surprising thing is that volcanoes under Antarctica are rarely seen inactive. (Symbolic photo: Shutterstock)
Since then, Mount Erebus has been observed releasing plumes of gas and steam and even occasionally spewing rock “bombs,” collectively known as Strombolian eruptions, according to NASA Earth Observatory.
Bacon says one of its most interesting features is the permanent lava lake that occupies one of the volcano’s summit craters, where molten material remains at the surface. These are actually quite rare, as it is very rare for a surface to never freeze.
Meanwhile, Deception Island is an area of active volcano, which last erupted in 1970. Even though there are two active volcanoes on the continent, Antarctica is full of fumaroles and volcanic vents that release steam and gases into the air. Even though scientists are monitoring Antarctica’s volcanoes with instruments, it can be challenging to predict when the next eruption will occur.
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FIRST PUBLISHED: April 10, 2024, 07:56 IST
