Imagine a giant asleep for thousands of years, trapped beneath tons of ice, silently accumulating its strength. Now, imagine someone is removing the chains that bind it one by one. This giant exists, and it's not in a fairy tale. It's right here on our planet, and global warming is about to unleash it. We're talking about subglacial volcanoes.
Watch: IENTISTAS ALERTARAM: Melting glaciers are awakening Earth's most explosive volcanoes Geology Info Sep 30 report
Transcripts here for readers writers and researchers Transcript
Welcome back to Geology Info. The study
0:02
being presented is part of research
0:04
conducted by the European Association of
0:06
Geocchemistry. Link to the research in
0:09
the video description. Imagine a giant
0:11
asleep for thousands of years, trapped
0:14
beneath tons of ice, silently
0:16
accumulating its strength. Now, imagine
0:18
someone is removing the chains that bind
0:20
it one by one. This giant exists, and
0:23
it's not in a fairy tale. It's right
0:25
here on our planet, and global warming
0:27
is about to unleash it. We're talking
0:29
about subglacial volcanoes. True time
0:31
bombs hidden beneath glaciers that are
0:33
melting every day. What seemed to be
0:35
merely an environmental issue could
0:37
transform into the greatest volcanic
0:39
threat modern humanity has ever faced.
0:41
The Patagonian ice sheet, a natural
0:43
laboratory in southern Chile, where the
0:46
Andes mountain range extends
0:48
majestically, there exists a region that
0:50
guards millennial secrets beneath its
0:52
glaciers. This area shaped by the
0:55
interaction between fire and ice
0:57
throughout geological eras has been the
0:59
stage for a delicate dance between
1:01
titanic forces. The Patagonian ice
1:03
sheet, one of the largest ice reserves
1:05
outside the polar regions, has covered
1:07
these volcanic mountains for tens of
1:09
thousands of years. During the last ice
1:12
age, approximately 26,000 to 18,000
1:15
years ago, this region was completely
1:17
dominated by a thick layer of ice that
1:20
exerted monstrous pressure on the
1:21
Earth's crust. Among these frozen giants
1:24
stands the Mo Choswinkeno volcano.
1:27
Dormant today but with an explosive past
1:29
that scientists are only beginning to
1:31
fully understand. This volcano together
1:33
with five others in the region studied
1:35
by researchers represents a window into
1:38
understanding a phenomenon that may be
1:40
repeating on a global scale. The
1:42
interaction between ice and magma in
1:44
this region created unique conditions
1:46
that now serve as a natural laboratory
1:48
to predict the future of hundreds of
1:50
other volcanoes around the world. What
1:52
happened here in the past may be about
1:54
to happen again, but this time on an
1:56
unprecedented scale. The geological
1:59
history of this region tells us about a
2:01
period when the weight of the ice was so
2:02
immense that it literally pressed down
2:04
on the earth, keeping imprisoned the
2:06
magma that seathed in the depths. For
2:09
thousands of years, while the planet
2:11
crossed through the height of the last
2:13
glaciation, these subterranean forces
2:15
were being contained, compressed,
2:17
accumulated. Silicar magma concentrated
2:20
in enormous reservoirs. 6 to 9 mi, 10 to
2:23
15 km below the surface, patiently
2:27
waiting for an opportunity to escape. It
2:29
was like filling a balloon that could
2:31
never burst, continuously increasing
2:33
internal pressure. But then something
2:35
changed. About 18,000 years ago, the
2:37
global climate began to warm naturally,
2:40
marking the end of the ice age. The
2:42
Patagonian ice sheet began to melt at an
2:44
accelerated rate. And here's the crucial
2:46
point that scientists discovered. When
2:48
the weight of the ice disappeared, the
2:50
pressure that kept the magma contained
2:52
also vanished. The Earth's crust, freed
2:54
from that monstrous weight began to
2:56
relax and expand. The gases dissolved in
2:59
the magma, previously compressed by the
3:01
pressure of the ice above, began to
3:03
expand violently. The result was
3:05
catastrophic and spectacular. What
3:07
followed was a series of explosive
3:09
eruptions that completely shaped the
3:11
region's landscape. The Mo Choseno
3:13
volcano and its neighbors entered into
3:15
frenzied activity, releasing centuries
3:17
of accumulated energy in a matter of
3:19
decades. This pattern was not exclusive
3:22
to Chile. Similar evidence has been
3:24
found in Iceland since the 1970s, where
3:26
scientists observed that glacier retreat
3:28
was directly related to increased
3:30
volcanic activity. Now, for the first
3:33
time, researchers have demonstrated that
3:35
this phenomenon is not limited to
3:36
isolated volcanic systems on islands,
3:39
but can occur in entire continental
3:41
systems. And here's the part that should
3:44
keep all of us awake at night. This
3:46
process is happening again now as you
3:49
read this. Scientists from the
3:50
University of Wisconsin Madison, working
3:52
in collaboration with researchers from
3:55
three other American institutions,
3:57
embarked on a journey to unravel the
3:59
mysteries of these dormant volcanoes.
4:01
Using sophisticated argon dating
4:03
techniques and detailed analysis of
4:05
crystals found in volcanic rocks, they
4:07
managed to reconstruct the history of
4:09
six volcanoes in southern Chile with
4:11
impressive precision. Pablo Mareno
4:14
Jerger, the researcher who presented
4:15
these findings at the Goldmid conference
4:17
in Prague, explained that they were able
4:19
to track exactly how the weight and
4:21
pressure of glacial ice altered the
4:24
characteristics of magma in the
4:25
subsurface. Each crystal analyzed told a
4:28
story. Each dating revealed a crucial
4:30
moment in the life of these fire giants.
4:33
The method used by scientists is
4:34
fascinating in itself. By precisely
4:37
dating previous eruptions and
4:38
meticulously examining the crystals
4:40
present in rocks expelled by the
4:42
volcanoes, the team managed to create a
4:44
detailed timeline of volcanic events.
4:47
These crystals function as microscopic
4:49
time capsules, preserving information
4:51
about the conditions under which the
4:53
magma formed and evolved. Through them,
4:56
researchers could determine that during
4:57
the peak of the last ice age, the thick
5:00
ice cover not only suppressed the volume
5:01
of eruptions, but also allowed a large
5:04
reservoir of silicar magma to accumulate
5:06
in the depths. It was like a giant
5:08
pressure cooker being slowly filled. The
5:11
alarming discovery. A global pattern
5:13
emerges. The most alarming discovery
5:16
came when scientists realized the
5:18
pattern. As soon as the ice sheet began
5:21
to melt rapidly at the end of the last
5:23
glacial period, the sudden loss of
5:25
weight caused a relaxation of the
5:27
Earth's crust. This relaxation allowed
5:29
gases in the magma to expand
5:31
dramatically. The resulting pressure
5:32
buildup triggered explosive volcanic
5:35
eruptions from the deep reservoir,
5:36
leading to the formation of the volcano
5:38
itself in its current configuration.
5:41
Mareno Jerger was direct in his
5:43
presentation. Glaciers tend to suppress
5:45
the volume of eruptions from volcanoes
5:47
beneath them. But when these glaciers
5:49
retreat due to climate change, volcanoes
5:51
begin to erupt more frequently and more
5:53
explosively. Here's where the situation
5:55
becomes truly worrying. The fundamental
5:58
requirement for increased explosivity is
6:00
to initially have very thick glacial
6:02
cover over a magma chamber. The trigger
6:05
point occurs when these glaciers begin
6:07
to retreat, releasing the pressure. And
6:09
guess where this is happening right now?
6:11
At this very moment in Antarctica, the
6:14
frozen continent of the south covered by
6:16
miles of ice in some regions hides
6:18
hundreds of subglacial volcanoes that
6:20
have remained dormant for millennia.
6:22
With global warming accelerating the
6:24
melting of Antarctic ice at
6:25
unprecedented rates, we are potentially
6:28
setting the stage for a mass volcanic
6:30
awakening. But it doesn't stop there.
6:33
The study suggests that this phenomenon
6:35
is not limited to Iceland where
6:37
increased volcanism has already been
6:39
observed and documented, nor even to
6:41
Chile. It can occur in Antarctica and
6:43
other continental regions around the
6:45
globe. Parts of North America,
6:47
specifically in Alaska and northwestern
6:49
Canada, New Zealand with its volcanoes
6:51
in the South Islands, and even regions
6:53
of Russia, particularly the Kamchatka
6:55
Peninsula, now require more rigorous
6:58
scientific attention. Each of these
7:00
areas has volcanoes covered by glaciers
7:02
that are rapidly losing their ice cap.
7:05
There are hundreds of potential eruption
7:06
points being slowly activated as the
7:08
planet warms. There is however a small
7:11
window of hope in this apocalyptic
7:12
story. Although the volcanic response to
7:15
glacial melting is almost instantaneous
7:17
in geological terms, the process of
7:19
changes in the magmatic system is
7:21
gradual and occurs over centuries. This
7:23
means we have some time for monitoring
7:25
and early warning systems. But here's
7:28
the question.
7:29
Nobody wants to ask out loud, are we
7:31
really prepared to monitor hundreds of
7:33
volcanoes simultaneously in some of the
7:36
most remote and inaccessible regions of
7:38
the planet. And if you've made it this
7:40
far in this video, you've already taken
7:42
the first step. You've informed
7:44
yourself. Now share this knowledge, talk
7:46
about it, demand action from your
7:48
leaders, and if you want to continue
7:50
following scientific discoveries that
7:52
are shaping our future, subscribe to the
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channel, activate the notification bell,
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and together we'll continue this journey
7:59
of knowledge and awareness. Because
8:01
knowledge without action is just
8:03
information, but knowledge that inspires
8:05
change can literally save the world.
***
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