Antarctica – a land of endless ice, but beneath this frozen expanse lies a hidden and potentially explosive secret... volcanoes. What’s Beneath the Ice? Over 100 dormant volcanoes lie buried under kilometers of Antarctic ice.

Melting ice in Antarctica could trigger volcanic eruptions beneath the continent’s vast ice sheet, creating a slow but dangerous feedback loop, scientists warn. A new study suggests the melting of Antarctica’s ice sheet, driven by the climate crisis, may increase volcanic activity under the surface.

Melting Antarctica ice reduces pressure on underground magma, triggering volcanoes. This heats ice, accelerates melting, and raises seas.

Eruptions of subglacial volcanoes may not be visible on the surface, but they can have consequences for the ice sheet. Heat from these eruptions can increase ice melting deep below the surface and weaken the overlying ice sheet — potentially leading to a feedback loop of reduced pressure from the surface and further volcanic 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,’ the authors wrote in their paper published in the journal Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems.

A slow climate feedback loop may be bubbling beneath Antarctica's vast ice sheet. The continent, divided east to west by the Transantarctic Mountains, includes volcanic giants such as Mount Erebus and its iconic lava lake.

As ice recedes, hidden volcanoes under Antarctica awaken, reshaping predictions for climate change. When glaciers melt, they expose more than just ancient landscapes. Beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet lies a fiery secret—active volcanoes that may become more restless as the ice retreats.

Deep beneath Antarctica’s icy surface lies an ominous secret—a vast network of active volcanoes poised for eruption. As the planet warms, the ice sheet’s protective grip is loosening, potentially igniting a cataclysmic chain reaction that could reshape the continent and accelerate global climate change.