NASA Discovers Mantle Plume Almost as Hot as Yellowstone Supervolcano That's Melting Antarctica

Newsweek ^ | Nov 8, 2017 | Hannah Osborne

[smileyface]

A mantle plume producing almost as much heat as Yellowstone supervolcano appears to be melting part of West Antarctica from beneath.

Researchers at NASA have discovered a huge upwelling of hot rock under Marie Byrd Land, which lies between the Ross Ice Shelf and the Ross Sea, is creating vast lakes and rivers under the ice sheet. The presence of a huge mantle plume could explain why the region is so unstable today, and why it collapsed so quickly at the end of the last Ice Age, 11,000 years ago.

[PTBAA]

It’s the Mojo risin...

[CMAC51]

Actually a British team reported on this about 10 years ago. They reported mainly on the effect. NASA has done a commendable job of detailing and analyzing the cause. This is an example of how science should work.

[Right Wing Assault]

We must spend trillions of dollars to install a refrigeration system to cool the region below West Antarctica!

Anyone who is close buddies with Algore, get word to him so he can start investing in refrigeration stock before the releases his new movie "An Inconvenient Warming Mantle Truth." The temperature down there must be a billion degrees and we must stop it.

[jughandle]

Wife probably sensed that I laughed at that....unpleasantries await me..

[Sacajaweau]

I had a circa 1850 book detailing these ocean volcanoes, how they work and what they spew. Wish I still had the book.

Also have/had an old map c 1900 showing hot spots in the Pacific. Probably still have that.....somewhere.

[VanShuyten]

Newsweak had a “what if” article a couple of months ago about newly discovered sub-glacial volcanoes in the Antarctic, and worried about what if several of them went off in a short time.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks smileyface.

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[redgolum]

True.

I remember reading about the initial findings. I also remember people saying it was fake.

[tbw2]

I’ve already seen people saying “this doesn’t disprove climate change as the major cause of melting, it is just a modifier for the models”.
In short, melting ice is still mostly due to the cause we say justifies our political demands.

[Mrs. Don-o]

I read about this, must be 15 years ago, around 1990, when the climate hysterians were just putting up their megaphones. I remember thinking, "Yeah, uh-huh, having volcanically active hotspots under the Western Antarctic would probably influence glacier melting, ocean water temp and all the rest of it. Nothing to do with CO₂."

So, surprise, surprise.

The great thing is, that under a Trump Administration, they can finally say it.

We're OK now. Everybody exhale.

[huldah1776]

I don’t think this would have been published under the previous administration. I was wondering how we could get to that pure water.

[i_robot73]

‘The Thing’ left the engine running after crashing is all

[shotgun]

Our dumb as rock governor Inslee (D), Washington, is licking his chops at advancing climate change policy with the now majority Democrat led legislature.

[Charles Martel]

You mean Al Gore was wrong, and it’s not melting because of the cow population in the US?

Al has sent some mixed messages on the subject, don't you think?

[SaraJohnson]

So commies can stop whining about the melting of ice due to man made global warming now? (ha ha)

[gleeaikin]

I need a biggish vehicle because I am renovating some houses—Home Depot, Lowes, the dump visits. But I hate to pay for gasoline. Nearly cried when my 1996 Dodge Caravan, 4 cylinder gave up on me. My fear was I would not find a good 4 cylinder vehicle. Now I have a brand new Ford Transit Connect, longer edition with 2 front seats. Love it and get very good mileage with it’s 4 cylinders. On long trips I can get a good rest on the mattress I put in the rear while my guy drives.

[gleeaikin]

Actually if this superplume does what SPs often do, that is blow sky high with giant ash falls, then we are in big trouble. A huge quantity of ash on the snowy surface of Antarctica would speed up melting of the snow under the ash as the sun’s heat was absorbed by the ash. Thus we would have the one two punch of tremendous heat from the blast plus long term heating from the sun on the ash fall. Has anyone estimated the amount of sea level rise from such a scenario?

[gleeaikin]

There is a lot of interesting information at the continuation of the posted article. In addition here is an interesting link about what could happen if the volcanic activity increased significantly. Two dates of “Catastrophism” interest in the articles are 11,000 and 18,000 years ago when significant things happened to this ice sheet area.

http://www.newsweek.com/antarctica-subglacial-volcanoes-eruption-risk-sea-ice-659537?utm_source=internal&utm_campaign=right&utm_medium=related3

[Mrs. Don-o]

Thanks for the links. I love catastrophes. Only because I simply imagine I’m not there.

[ameribbean expat]

In related news, geologists have named the feature Algore ‘s Butt, noting that polar bears are dying.