Experts on red alert as 100 volcanoes in Antarctica edge closer to erupting
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Experts are on red alert after uncovering a ticking time bomb in Antarctica that would reshape the continent and dramatically increase sea levels worldwide. More than 100 volcanoes lie beneath the surface of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, which is 'particularly vulnerable to collapse, yet its position atop an active volcanic rift is seldom considered,' the study noted.
![[More than 100 volcanoes lie beneath the surface of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. In fact, what appears to be a frozen wasteland is actually the largest volcanically active region on Earth]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/13/21/94049017-14279283-More_than_100_volcanoes_lie_beneath_the_surface_of_the_West_Anta-a-18_1736804036468.jpg)
Scientists have warned that as climate change causes the ice sheet to melt, this drives increased volcanic activity that speeds up melting at the surface, creating a 'positive feedback loop.'. As the ice sheet melts, the amount of mass pushing down on the surface decreases, which creates an uplifting effect in the subsurface.
![[While experts have known of these volcanoes for years, researchers recently found that the interplay between volcanic activity and surface ice melting creates a 'positive feedback loop']](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/13/19/94049021-14279283-image-a-3_1736796721750.jpg)
This, in turn, allows magma chambers deep within the continent to expand, which speeds up the processes that lead to an eruption by putting stress on the chamber walls and releasing gas trapped inside the magma. When volcanoes erupt, this drives more melting at the surface, and the process starts over again.
![[The researchers' model suggests that surface melting speeds up the process that initiates the first stages of an eruption by tens to hundreds of years, thus causing more melting]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/13/21/94049013-14279283-The_researchers_model_suggests_that_surface_melting_speeds_up_th-a-15_1736803254794.jpg)
The researchers modeled this phenomenon using over 4,000 advanced computer simulations, finding that surface melting speeds up the process that initiates the first stages of an eruption by tens to hundreds of years. In one of the modeling scenarios, the team removed a 3,280-foot-thick ice sheet over the course of 300 years, which is considered moderate melting for West Antarctica, and found a significant increase in volcanic activity and the size of eruptions.
![[Increased Eruptions from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet's numerous volcanoes would not directly harm human communities, but could cause indirect harm by speeding up sea level rise]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/13/21/94049039-14279283-Increased_Eruptions_from_the_West_Antarctic_Ice_Sheet_s_numerous-a-16_1736803254977.jpg)
