The Earth faces the threat of eruptions from 100 hidden volcanoes. When will these events occur?

For years, scientists have been stressing the urgency of the climate crisis looming over our planet. The world has already faced unprecedented heat waves, droughts, and wildfires, with changes affecting not only land but also escalating in the oceans. Now, researchers believe that Earth is at risk of eruptions from at least a hundred volcanoes, as reported by Live Science.

It is suggested that a slow feedback loop may be brewing beneath the massive ice sheets of Antarctica. The continent, divided from east to west by the Transantarctic Mountains, conceals volcanic giants like Mount Erebus and its famous lava lake beneath its icy cover.

Researchers have also discovered at least 100 less prominent volcanoes scattered across Antarctica. Many of these are clustered along the continent's western coastline. Some of these volcanoes rise above the surface, while others are hidden beneath several kilometers of the Antarctic ice sheet.

It is no secret that climate change is causing the ice sheet to melt, leading to rising sea levels. The melting of glaciers also reduces pressure on the rocks, which scientists believe has more localized effects. For instance, it has previously been demonstrated that the melting of the ice sheet increases volcanic activity in previously ice-covered volcanoes—this has been observed in other parts of the world.

In a new study, scientists conducted over 400 computer simulations to examine how the loss of glacial ice impacts the volcanoes buried beneath Antarctica's ice. The results indicate that the gradual loss of Antarctic ice may increase the number and size of subglacial eruptions.

The main reason is that the loss of ice reduces pressure on the magma chambers hidden beneath the surface, causing the compressed magma to expand. This expansion increases pressure on the walls of the magma chamber and raises the likelihood of eruptions.

Researchers also found that some magma chambers contain a significant amount of volatile gases, which are typically dissolved in the magma. As the magma cools and pressure decreases at the surface, these gases escape from the solution, increasing pressure in the magma chamber. According to scientists, this pressure suggests that the melting of Antarctic ice is likely to accelerate eruptions from at least 100 volcanoes.

Eruptions from volcanoes hidden beneath the ice may go unnoticed on the surface; however, they will have consequences for the ice sheet. Scientists believe that eruptions from such volcanoes could enhance ice melting deep beneath the surface, inevitably weakening the ice shield as a whole. Such a development could trigger a feedback loop of reduced surface pressure, leading to a series of eruptions.

The good news is that this process is incredibly slow and may take hundreds of years. The bad news is that the theoretical feedback could be initiated even if humanity manages to curb anthropogenic global warming. The Antarctic ice sheet was significantly thicker during the last ice age, and it is possible that the same process of unloading and expanding magma and gas contributed to past eruptions.