There is a lava-spewing volcano under ice sheets of Antarctica

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New York, Jan 23 : A team of scientists claims to have discovered the first evidence of an under-ice volcanic eruption in Antarctica.

Using airborne ice-sounding radar, the scientists from the British Antarctic Survey found a layer of ash produced by a 'subglacial' volcano located beneath the West Antarctic ice sheet in Hudson Mountains, that erupted 2,000 years ago.

"The discovery of a 'subglacial' volcanic eruption from beneath the Antarctic ice sheet is unique in itself. But our techniques also allow us to put a date on the eruption, determine how powerful it was and map out area where ash fell.

"We believe this was the biggest eruption in Antarctica during the last 10,000 years. It blew a substantial hole in the ice sheet, and generated a plume of ash and gas that rose around 12 km into air," lead researcher Hugh Corr was quoted by the ScienceDaily as saying.

According to the team, the discovery is another vital piece of evidence that will help determine the future of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and refine the predictions of future sea-level rise. "This eruption occurred close to Pine Island Glacier on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. The flow of this glacier towards the coast has speeded up in recent decades and it may be possible that heat from the volcano has caused some of that acceleration.

"However, it cannot explain the more widespread thinning of West Antarctic glaciers that together are contributing nearly 0.2mm per year to sea-level rise. This wider change most probably has its origin in warming ocean waters," co-researcher Prof David Vaughan said.