91 Volcanoes Discovered Below Antarctic Ice Sheet

A new study has uncovered almost one hundred previously unknown volcanoes hidden under the ice in Antarctica, which puts the icy continent on par with Eastern Africa and North America, the former known to house the largest volcano grouping on the planet.


Antarctica might be one of the most volcanically-active regions on Earth, as the study, performed by a team of Edinburgh University researchers, has uncovered more than 90 previously unknown volcanoes hidden below the ice, some as tall as 12,600 feet.

According to The Verge, the vulcan team analyzed a digital elevation model based on data gathered in previous surveys using ice-penetrating radars mounted on vehicles and aircraft. Scientists came up with a number of criteria to determine whether a certain geophysical structure might or might not be a volcano.

The study revealed 178 cone-shaped structures, of which 138 are likely volcanoes, and 91 of the latter group are new to geologists.

"We were amazed," said glacier expert Robert Bingham, one of the authors of the study.

"We had not expected to find anything like that number. We have almost trebled the number of volcanoes known to exist in west Antarctica," Bingham said

"We also suspect there are even more on the bed of the sea that lies under the Ross ice shelf," he added. "So that I think it is very likely this region will turn out to be the densest region of volcanoes in the world, greater even than east Africa, where mounts Nyiragongo, Kilimanjaro, Longonot and all the other active volcanoes are concentrated."
 [sputniknews.com]
14/8/17