Antarctica's Secret: 207 Hidden Volcanoes Discovered Beneath Ice Sheets

• An international team, led by China, has released ANT-SGV-25, the most detailed catalogue of 207 hidden subglacial volcanoes beneath Antarctica's ice.
• The study, published in Earth-Science Reviews, challenges the assumption of Antarctica being geologically silent, confirming it hosts one of Earth’s largest volcanic provinces.
• The catalogue unifies decades of scattered observations, providing a single public database for studying Antarctica's crust and improving estimates of geothermal heat flow.
• Volcanic heat influences ice sheet stability; magma beneath ice can weaken it, and meltwater from subglacial eruptions can accelerate glacier movement towards the ocean.
• ANT-SGV-25 is a major step for polar science, offering essential groundwork for future monitoring and research into how these buried volcanoes interact with a warming climate.