And climate scientists are surprised that Western Antartica is warming differently than eastern?
The largest volcanic region on Earth
And no one even knew it was there
Using ice-penetrating radar, Edinburgh University researchers have discovered 91 subglacial volcanoes hiding more than a mile (2km) below the surface of the west Antarctic ice sheet.
The volcanoes, which are considered active, range from about 330 feet (100m) to 12,600 feet (3850m) tall, more than 1000 feet taller than Oregon’s Mt. Hood. Even at that height, the subglacial peaks are still covered by a dense layer of ice. (The ice is more than 2.4 miles (4km) thick in the region.)
“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.