Volcano 'as powerful
as Yellowstone' MELTS ice beneath Antarctica
A GIGANTIC volcano which could be as powerful
as the dreaded Yellowstone is melting Antarctic ice from beneath the surface,
Nasa scientists have revealed.
By SEAN MARTIN
PUBLISHED: 16:40, Thu, Nov 9, 2017 |
UPDATED: 16:45, Thu, Nov 9, 2017
Volcano 'as powerful as Yellowstone' MELTS ice beneath AntarcticaGETTY
Experts working at the South Pole have found
evidence to support a theory that a gigantic geothermal heat source may be
lurking beneath the surface – and it could be as devastating as the Yellowstone
volcano.
Scientists first theorised the ice was melting
due to a volcano when they noticed a breathing effect was visible on
Antarctica's Marie Byrd Land in the west of the icy continent.
The volcano itself is not a new discovery, but
the new research suggests it could be aiding global warming and could be why
the ice sheet collapsed 11,000 years ago in a previous example of rapid climate
change.
Hélène Seroussi of Nasa's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, said: "I thought it was crazy. I
didn't see how we could have that amount of heat and still have ice on top of
it.”
The land beneath the ice of
Antarctica
Ms Seroussi and Erik Ivins of JPL used the Ice
Sheet System Model (ISSM), which is a mathematical model that uses the physics
of the ice sheets, to look for heat sources and meltwater deposits.
The melted water beneath the surface
lubricates the ice sheets, allowing glaciers to slide.
And the information can also be used to
estimate how much ice will be lost in the future.
"I didn't see how we could
have that amount of heat and still have ice on top of it."
The underwater systems in the Antarctic can
cause surface ice to rise by at least six metres over a short time frame,
allowing scientists to observe concentrations of water sources beneath the
surface.
In a statement, Nasa said: “They found that
the flux of energy from the mantle plume must be no more than 150 milliwatts
per square meter.
“For
comparison, in US regions with no volcanic activity, the heat flux from Earth's
mantle is 40 to 60 milliwatts.
"Under Yellowstone National Park – a well-known
geothermal hot spot – the heat from below is about 200 milliwatts per square
meter averaged over the entire park.”
