Scientists Discover Volcano Lying Hidden Beneath West Antarctic Ice Sheet

There's some volcanic activity occurring in one of the most hostile and coldest environments on Earth. Scientists have observed "swarms" of seismic activity between January 2010 and March 2011, revealing that there's current volcanic activity under the massive West Antarctic Ice Sheet.

Although previous studies using aerial radar detected the presence of subglacial volcanoes in West Antarctica, this is the first evidence that the region is still active.

"This [study] is saying that we have seismicity, which means [this system] is active right now," said Amanda Lough, one of the researchers, in a news release. "This is saying that the magmatic chamber is still alive; that there is magma that is moving around in the crust. Just because we can't see below the ice, doesn't mean there's not something going on there."

The seismic events occurred at depths of 15 to 25 miles. Add that fact to the activity's swarm-like behavior and low frequency and scientists were able to rule out glacial and tectonic sources. These deep, long-period earthquakes, in contrast, indicate active magma moving within the Earth's crust and are most often associated with volcanic activity.

The location of the current seismicity is located about 34 to 37 miles south of Mt. Sidley. This is actually where current volcanic activity would be predicted to occur based on the geographic locations and the ages of the lava of the known volcanoes in the Executive Committee Range.

In some volcanic systems, deep long period earthquakes can indicate an imminent eruption. Yet in this case, it doesn't seem as if these seismic events are likely to precede an eruption. That doesn't mean the location hasn't experienced an eruption in the past, though. The elevation in bed topography indicates that it's likely the newly discovered volcano did indeed erupt.

If the location were to erupt again, though, it's unlikely that it would cause any huge shifts. Only an extremely powerful eruption from the active magmatic complex would break through the .6 to .9-mile thick ice sheet overlying the area.

The findings reveal a little bit more about the volcanic activity of the ice sheet. More specifically, it extends the range of active volcanism deeper into the interior of the ice sheet than previously known. It also reveals the possibility of massive melting if an eruption were to occur. It's possible that a short-term increase in heat could help melt the bottom of the ice cheat and thus hasten ice loss.

The findings are published in the journal Nature Geoscience.