Volcanoes Tied to Thinning of Antarctica’s Glaciers

[depakid]

Can't wait to see how this will be misconstrued...:eyes:
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Here is another factor that might be contributing to the thinning of some of the Antarctica’s glaciers: volcanoes.

In an article published Sunday on the Web site of the journal Nature Geoscience, Hugh F.J. Corr and David G. Vaughan of the British Antarctic Survey report the identification of a layer of volcanic ash and glass shards frozen within an ice sheet in West Antarctica.

For Antarctica, “this is the first time we have seen a volcano beneath the ice sheet punch a hole through the ice sheet,” Dr. Vaughan said.

Heat from a volcano could still be melting ice and contributing to the thinning and speeding up of the Pine Island Glacier, which passes nearby, but Dr. Vaughan doubted that it could be affecting other glaciers in West Antarctica, which have also thinned in recent years. Most glaciologists, including Dr. Vaughan, say that warmer ocean water is the primary cause.

Volcanically, Antarctica is a fairly quiet place. But sometime around 325 B.C., the researchers said, a hidden and still active volcano erupted, puncturing several hundred yards of ice above it. Ash and shards from the volcano carried through the air and settled onto the surrounding landscape. That layer is now out of sight, hidden beneath the snows that fell over the subsequent 23 centuries.

More: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/21/science/21cnd-volcano.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

[tsuki]

1. 23 Centuries?!? But, but, but the earth is only 6000 years old.

:eyes:

[ret5hd]

2. 2300 LT 6000

Not that i agree with the premise at all