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Previously unsuspected volcanic activity confirmed under West Antarctic Ice Sheet at Pine Island Glacier

snip..."The researchers first noted the volcanic activity in 2007 and verified its existence again in 2014.

It remains unclear how the newly discovered activity affects knowledge about the glacier, because researchers don't yet know how volcanic heat is distributed along the bottom of the ice sheet. However, researchers do know that the heat from the volcano is producing melting beneath the ice sheet. This meltwater is leaking across the grounding line where the ice shelf meets the ocean.

The heat source, Loose and team note, is about half that of the active volcano Grímsvötn, in Iceland.

While the effects of volcanic heat on the Antarctic ice sheets is an active topic of research, this study provides the first geochemical evidence of a contemporary volcanic heat source, emphasizing the need to detect and understand volcanism, including in models of ice-sheet behavior. The greater understanding of volcanism could alter scientists' perception of the mechanics of ice-sheet loss, including in the areas where the glaciers meet the sea.

"Our finding of a substantial heat source beneath a major WAIS glacier highlights the need to understand subglacial volcanism, its interaction with the marine margins and its potential role in the future stability of the WAIS,” they write in the Nature Communications article.

They also note that volcanic activity could be increasing the rate of collapse of the Thwaites Glacier, which is adjacent to the Pine Island Glacier.

A complete collapse of the Thwaites Glacier could significantly affect global sea levels, according to scientists. The Thwaites already drains an area roughly the size of the state of Florida, accounting for about 4 percent of global sea level rise -- an amount that has doubled since the mid-1990s."

RESULT: Ice erosion underneath means its thinner, floats more, and is no longer hung up on rocks on the ocean bottom. In addition, volcano created warm water underneath makes the glacier "Slidey" and causes it to go faster. Not climate change and there is nothing anyone can do about it.