An interesting fact is that these 138 volcanoes are the largest volcanic region on Earth. 91 of these were discovered for the first time within the scope of research in 2017 alone.

volcanoes in Antarctica

For geologists, volcanic eruptions in this region are both easy and difficult, depending on the type of volcano. Although these objects, which are superficial signs of heated material emerging from the interior of the Earth, are considered young for volcanoes, scientists could not distinguish whether they were active or not.

There are only two volcanoes currently classified as active on the ice-covered continent: Deception IslandA horseshoe-shaped piece of land in the north of the mainland that forms part of the South Shetland Islands and Mt. ErebusIt is the highest peak on the continent with its peak of 3,794 meters. It is considered the southernmost active volcano in the world.

Rising above McMurdo Research Base on Scott Island, Erebus has been erupting continuously since at least 1972.
– says Conor Bacon, a researcher at the Lamont-Dougherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University in New York.

• Erebus “ejects clouds of gas and steam” and even occasionally detonates rock “bombs” collectively known as strombolic explosions. One of its most interesting features is the permanent lava lake covering one of the summit craters, where molten material is at the surface. This is actually quite rare because very specific conditions are required for the surface to never solidify.
• Deception Island is the caldera of an active volcano that last erupted in 1970, according to the Antarctic Special Management Area, which monitors volcanic activity on the island. Currently the island is classified as “green”, meaning no eruption is expected on it.

Although there are only two active volcanoes on the continent, Antarctica is full of fumaroles, volcanic vents that release gases and steam into the air. Under favorable conditions, accumulation from these vents can form deposits known as fumarole ice towers that reach heights of 10 feet.

Although scientists constantly monitor volcanoes in Antarctica with instruments, it is difficult to predict exactly when the next eruption might occur. So other than two active volcanoes and various fumaroles, scientists practically cannot predict the activity of other volcanoes. But of course any of these have the same explosive capacity as these two, because the continent is not “dead” in the geological sense.

Only Mount Erebus and Deception Island have a small number of permanent monitoring devices, according to Bacon. “These networks consist mainly of seismometers to detect seismic activity associated with volcanic landslides. From time to time, researchers use more extensive networks of instruments to conduct specific studies, but this naturally involves a multitude of logistical problems compared to many of the much more accessible volcanoes in other parts of the world.” “.