An active volcano has been unexpectedly discovered beneath a rapidly vanishing glacier in Antarctica by a team of scientists studying the melting ice shelf.
While rising temperatures in the polar oceans are still by far the biggest contributor to Antarctic melting, volcanoes buried deep beneath the ice are a “wild card” that are likely also playing a role.
Scientists have warned this hidden source of heat must be taken into consideration when predicting future sea level rise.
West Antarctica is thought to contain well over 100 volcanoes, but finding them and understanding their contribution to ice melting has proved difficult.
During a survey conducted in 2014, a team of British and American scientists stumbled across one of them while exploring the effect of warming ocean waters on the ice shelf.
Chemical data from water samples revealed an active source of volcanic heat beneath the Pine Island glacier, which is the fastest-melting glacier in the entire region.
Though there have been no eruptions in Antarctica for more than 2,000 years, the heat from this hidden volcano could be contributing to this rapid decline.