Arctic Volcanoes Have Been Erupting for Past Decade

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Hidden deep beneath the ice and water, nearly 2.5 miles below the surface of the arctic is a mile long line of underwater volcanoes. These silent destructors have been erupting for nearly a decade now, according to scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The mile long Gakkel ridge seems to be a unique formation of volcanoes that do more than just trickle out lava, but may have actually erupted. Robert Reeves-Sohn and his colleagues have found evidence suggesting that between 1999 -2001 there have been explosions from the ridge.

The discovery has led scientists to believe that while the overlying Ice of the arctic is most likely not affected by the eruptions, the overlying water current however has been disturbed. WHOI has ruled out the eruptions as a possible reason for the melting of the polar ice. The current explanation is that the water absorbs the heat from the volcanic eruptions from what are classified as hydrothermal vents, changes the currents which then carries the warm water down away from the ice. However, some still question how heated water even if it is carried away does not have some impact on the immediate area.

When volcanoes erupt they release large amounts of Carbon Dioxide and other gasses some of which are green house gasses. The study has not pointed out exactly what effect these shifts in currents can cause, they seem confident that the chain is not a destabilizing factor in the arctic.