Melting Ice & Volcanoes in Antarctica

[GordMay]

Melting Glaciers In Antarctica May Encourage More Volcanic Activity
More about ➥ https://cleantechnica.com/2025/01/13...anic-activity/

Accelerated melting of ice in Antarctica, could activate hidden volcanoes beneath its surface, scientists warned, in a recent (Nov 2024) study [1], published in the scientific journal Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems.
Melting ice is intensifying the activity of subglacial volcanoes*, increasing the risk of eruptions, in previously stabilized regions, beneath the Antarctic ice sheet.

These subglacial volcanic eruptions may not be visible on the surface, but they have a significant impact on the ice sheet.
The heat released from these subglacial volcanic eruptions could intensify melting at depth, weakening the ice above, and triggering a feedback loop.
This process occurs slowly, over hundreds of years; but the feedback loop could persist for decades.

* There are more than 100 volcanoes scattered across Antarctica, some visible on the surface, and others hidden under kilometers of ice.

[1] “Magma Chamber Response to Ice Unloading: Applications to Volcanism in the West Antarctic Rift System” ~ by A. N. Coonin et al
➥ https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley....9/2024GC011743

“... Key Points
• During deglaciation, the evolution of a crustal magma chamber beneath kilometers of ice is sensitive to the rate at which ice is removed
• A critical rate of unloading can trigger additional eruption events
• Ice unloading expedites the onset of volatile exsolution, with consequences for magma chamber pressurization and eruption size

Plain Language Summary
In regions like West Antarctica, volcanic eruptions occur underneath ice sheets. When hot magma comes in contact with ice, it can accelerate the melting of the ice cover. Beyond this, as climate change causes ice sheets to shrink, the decreasing weight on a volcano may affect its likelihood of erupting. The effects of ice loss above volcanoes on the underlying volcanic activity are not well understood. We conducted computer simulations to explore how gradual ice loss affects magma stored in the Earth's crust. We find that volcanoes beneath shrinking ice sheets are sensitive to the rate at which the ice sheet shrinks. As the ice melts away, the reduced weight on the volcano allows the magma to expand, applying pressure upon the surrounding rock that may facilitate eruptions. Additionally, the reduced weight from the melting ice above also allows dissolved water and carbon dioxide to form gas bubbles, which causes pressure to build up in the magma chamber and may eventually trigger an eruption. Under these conditions, we find that the removal of an ice sheet above a volcano results in more abundant and larger eruptions, which may potentially hasten the melting of overlying ice through complex feedback mechanisms ...”

[Johan Leopard51]

Never mind the effect of a lot of melted ice : one wonders what ancient life form, virus, bacteria, whatever have been dormant for millions of years under 2 miles of ice! Imagine the pressure under 2 miles of ice.

2 miles of ice is very difficult to comprehend. That is 4 times the height of that Kalifa building in Dubai - double the deepest part of the Grand Canyon.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Johan Leopard51

Never mind the effect of a lot of melted ice : one wonders what ancient life form, virus, bacteria, whatever have been dormant for millions of years under 2 miles of ice! Imagine the pressure under 2 miles of ice...

Indeed.
In addition to phototrophic and simple chemotrophic metabolisms, both symbiotic, and predatory, lifestyles may exist.

An international team of polar researchers has discovered a community of microorganisms [microbiota called superphylum Patescibacteria] living beneath the permanently frozen ice cover, of Antarctica’s Lake Enigma.
Their findings [1], detailed in a December 3 study, published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, reveal a previously unknown ecosystem, and hint at a lake once thriving with life, before it froze over.

More about: “Ancient Life Discovered in Ice-Covered Antarctic Lake”
Scientists thought the lake was completely frozen. They were wrong.
➥ https://gizmodo.com/ancient-life-dis...ake-2000535086

[1] “The perennially ice-covered Lake Enigma, Antarctica supports unique microbial communities” ~ by Michail M. Yakimov et al
➥ https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-024-01842-5

[rognvald]

Earth's evolution . . . pure and simple . . . 4.5 billion years.
Rognvald

[GordMay]

“Scientists thought this Antarctic sea floor would be barren. But it's teeming with life” ~ by Sheena Goodyear, CBC Radio’s ‘As it happens’
When an iceberg the size of a city broke free [from the George VI Ice Shelf], an expedition crew decided to see what lurked beneath
➥ https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens...tion-1.7490216


1st image: A large sponge and a cluster of anemones appear to thrive in this area previously covered by a thick slab of ancient ice.

[5BTM]

Originally Posted by rognvald

Earth's evolution . . . pure and simple . . . 4.5 billion years.
Rognvald

I hope evolution holds off until I pay off the morgage on my lightweight canadian castle.....

[rognvald]

Originally Posted by 5BTM

I hope evolution holds off until I pay off the morgage on my lightweight canadian castle.....

We stayed in Montreal at the marina on the south side of the river in 2018 on our transit out to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Great marina and staff!
Cheers, Rognvald

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Melting Glaciers In Antarctica May Encourage More Volcanic Activity
More about ➥ https://cleantechnica.com/2025/01/13...anic-activity/
...

Scientists say that the Yellowstone super-volcano is overdue, for an eruption.
Apparently, the volcano has eruptile dysfunction.

A new study[1] reveals that shrinking glaciers could unleash powerful volcanic eruptions, exacerbating climate change*, in the process.

Hundreds of volcanoes, in regions like Antarctica, Chile, and Alaska sit beneath ice. As global temperatures rise, that icy cover melts. The weight, once held above these volcanoes, and suppressing eruptions for thousands of years, is lost, removing the pressure, and triggering explosive activity. Researchers say, this hidden danger deserves serious attention.

The research [1], which was presented at the Goldschmidt geochemistry conference in Prague, is in the final stages of review, with an academic journal.

[1]“Melting glaciers could trigger more explosive eruptions globally, finds research” ~ Research presented, by Pablo Moreno-Yaeger, at the Goldschmidt Conference in Prague
➥ https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1089948

* Volcanic eruptions can cool the planet, temporarily, by projecting sunlight-reflecting particles into the atmosphere.
However, sustained eruptions would pump significant greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, including carbon dioxide and methane. This would further heat the planet, and potentially create a vicious circle [feedback loop], in which rising temperatures melt ice that leads to further eruptions, and more global heating.

See also:
“Unavoidable future increase in West Antarctic ice-shelf melting over the twenty-first century” ~ by Kaitlin A. Naughten et al
➥ https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-023-01818-x

[rognvald]

"In addition to phototrophic and simple chemotrophic metabolisms, both symbiotic, and predatory, lifestyles may exist." Gord May

Well, Gord,
Maybe it was true after all!
Cheers, Rognvald

https://youtu.be/IZHsJ-v2MYQ?si=l6Ogt3Xd0kUMw3_j

[GordMay]

In a unique collaboration, between the British Antarctic Survey [BAS], and University College London [Department of Earth Sciences], the Antarctic ice undergoes a series of destructive crush experiments, under the watchful eye of earthquake and rock physicist Tom Mitchell.

By crushing samples, and tracking how cracks propagate through ice crystals, researchers are uncovering the mechanics, behind fracture toughness, and rift evolution.

Findings, from the Brunt Ice Shelf, provide critical data, that can be applied to other regions of Antarctica, especially the vast and vulnerable Thwaites Glacier, whose collapse would have even more dramatic consequences, for rising seas.

“Scientists crush ice cores to predict Antarctica's next big ice crack” ~ by David Stock, for ‘New Scientist’
➥ https://www.newscientist.com/video/2...big-ice-crack/

“Why climate scientists are analysing the world's oldest ice core” ~ by Obomate Briggs, for ‘New Scientist’
➥ https://www.newscientist.com/video/2...dest-ice-core/

"The core of the matter: the scientists using Antarctic ice to understand our climate” ~ by Dr Emma Pearce, Dr Liz Thomas, and Dr Dieter Tetzner, for the British Antarctic Survey [BAS], a component of the Natural Environment Research Council [NERC]
➥ https://www.bas.ac.uk/blogpost/the-core-of-the-matter/

[edlithgow]

Originally Posted by rognvald

Earth's evolution . . . pure and simple . . . 4.5 billion years.
Rognvald

Apart from perhaps being your entry to a "Mother of All Contradictions" competition, what is the point of this post?

[SailOar]

Record grounded glacier retreat caused by an ice plain calving process

ABSTRACT

Understanding and predicting marine-terminating glacier instability presents one of the greatest challenges to forecasting future sea level rise. An extreme case of such instability is the Hektoria Glacier on the Eastern Antarctic Peninsula, which retreated ~25 km [15 miles] between January 2022 and March 2023. Here we investigate the dynamics and drivers of this retreat event primarily from analysis of geophysical data and satellite imagery. We find that retreat commenced immediately after the loss of decade-old fast ice in the Larsen B embayment and was associated with an almost 6-fold increase in flow speed and 40-fold increase in glacier thinning, relative to the period immediately before the fast ice loss. We also find that in November-December 2022, the glacier retreated a total of 8.2 ± 02 km [5 miles] in two months—a retreat rate nearly an order of magnitude faster than published values—and began with a transition from tabular iceberg calving to buoyancy-driven calving on an ice plain, a flat area where the glacier was only lightly grounded. Hence we conclude that in this case, retreat primarily resulted from an ice plain calving process, rather than atmospheric or oceanic conditions as suggested previously. This implies that marine-terminating glaciers with ice plain bed geometry can be easily destabilized.

Rules for buying/selling property in Florida:
Buy at high tide.
Sell at low tide.

[SailOar]

NSF plans abrupt end to lone U.S. Antarctic research icebreaker

The National Science Foundation (NSF) plans to abruptly end operation of the RV Nathaniel B. Palmer, the sole U.S. research ship capable of braving the farthest reaches of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. The move, which has so far not drawn opposition from Congress, is alarming polar scientists: Today, more than 170 researchers sent NSF leaders and Congress a letter asking the agency to reconsider.

The waters around Antarctica are the harshest on Earth. They contain thick sea ice and mountainous icebergs that menace even the “icebreaker” ships capable of exploring the Arctic. For nearly 60 years, however, the United States has continuously operated science-dedicated icebreakers in the Southern Ocean. They have gathered foundational data illuminating how these frigid waters ferry carbon and heat to the abyss below and how warm currents within them drive the melt of the continent’s vast ice sheet. If there was a toolbox for understanding Antarctica, an icebreaker like the Palmer is “the hammer,” says Carlos Moffat, a physical oceanographer at the University of Delaware and co-organizer of the letter. “You need it to get so much done.”

The Palmer, in operation since 1992, was the latest flag bearer in this long line. Capable of hosting two helicopters and up to 45 researchers, the Palmer was best known recently for its daring visits to the Thwaites Glacier, the so-called “doomsday” glacier located in a remote region of West Antarctica. There, the ship provided a home base for autonomous vehicles mapping the currents below the ice and helicopter access to its perilous ice shelf.

Although the U.S. plans to build a new research icebreaker, such a vessel is at least a decade away. Last year, NSF ended support for its other Antarctic research ship, the ARSV Laurence M. Gould, citing escalating costs and budget constraints. That left the Palmer on its own. Many observers expected the Palmer to continue operation until its successor was ready, or close to it. (The U.S. Coast Guard operates heavy icebreakers for opening paths through the ice to McMurdo Station, but these ships are not used for scientific research.)

[SailOar]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Melting Glaciers In Antarctica May Encourage More Volcanic Activity
More about ➥ https://cleantechnica.com/2025/01/13...anic-activity/

Accelerated melting of ice in Antarctica, could activate hidden volcanoes beneath its surface, scientists warned, in a recent (Nov 2024) study [1], published in the scientific journal Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems.
Melting ice is intensifying the activity of subglacial volcanoes*, increasing the risk of eruptions, in previously stabilized regions, beneath the Antarctic ice sheet.

These subglacial volcanic eruptions may not be visible on the surface, but they have a significant impact on the ice sheet.
The heat released from these subglacial volcanic eruptions could intensify melting at depth, weakening the ice above, and triggering a feedback loop.
This process occurs slowly, over hundreds of years; but the feedback loop could persist for decades.

* There are more than 100 volcanoes scattered across Antarctica, some visible on the surface, and others hidden under kilometers of ice.

[1] “Magma Chamber Response to Ice Unloading: Applications to Volcanism in the West Antarctic Rift System” ~ by A. N. Coonin et al
➥ https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley....9/2024GC011743

An article combining a number of different analysis regarding changes we should expect as Antarctica thaws

West Antarctica’s history of rapid melting foretells sudden shifts in continent’s ‘catastrophic’ geology