Antarctica’s Larsen Ice Shelf Melt Due to Geology, not Humans

Figure 1  North tip of Antarctic Continent including Larsen Ice Shelf Outline (black line), very active West Antarctica Rift / Fault System (red lines), and currently erupting or semi-active volcanoes (red dots).

Progressive bottom melting and break-up of West Antarctica’s seafloor hugging Larsen Ice Shelf is fueled by heat and heated fluid flow from numerous very active geological features, and not climate change.

This ice shelf break-up process has been the focus of an absolute worldwide media frenzy contending man-made atmospheric global warming is at work in the northwest peninsula of Antarctica.

As evidence, media articles typically include tightly edited close-up photos of cracks forming on the surface of the Larsen Ice Shelf (Figure 2) accompanied by text laced with global warming alarmist catch phrases. This “advertising / marketing” approach does in fact produce beautiful looking and expertly written articles.

However, they lack subsidence, specifically a distinct absence of actual scientific data and observations supporting the purported strong connection to manmade atmospheric global warming.

Working level scientists familiar with, or actually performing research on, the Larsen Ice Shelf utilize an entirely different approach when speaking about or writing about what is fueling this glacial ice break-up.

They ascribe the break-up to poorly understood undefined natural forces (see quote below). Unfortunately, comments by these scientists are often buried deep in media articles and never seem to match the alarmist tone of the article’s headline.

“Scientists have been monitoring the rift on the ice shelf for decades. Researchers told NBC News that the calving event was “part of the natural evolution of the ice shelf,” but added there could be a link to changing climate, though they had no direct evidence of it.” (see here)

Figure 2  An oblique view of crack in the Antarctic’s Larsen C ice shelf on November 10, 2016.
(NBC News Article credit John Sonntag / NASA via EPA

This article discusses what more properly explains what is fueling the Larsen Ice Shelf break-up. A theory that is supported by actual scientific data and observations thereby strongly indicating that the above mentioned undefined natural forces are in fact geological.

Let’s begin by reviewing the map atop this article (Figure 1). This map is a Google Earth image of the local area surrounding, and immediately adjacent to, the Larsen Ice Shelf, here amended with proven active geological features.

If ever a picture told a thousand words this is it. The Larsen Ice Shelf lies in and among: twenty-six semi-active (non-erupting but heat-flowing) land volcanoes, four actively erupting land volcanoes, two proven semi-active seafloor volcano (seamounts), and a proven actively heat flowing major fault system named the West Antarctic Rift.

Not shown on this map are known seafloor hydro-thermal vents (hot seafloor geysers), likely heat emitting fractures, and prominent cone-shaped seafloor mountains that are most likely seamounts (ocean volcanoes).

This geological information paints a very clear and compelling picture that the Larsen Ice Shelf is positioned in an extremely active geological setting. In fact a strong case can be made that the Larsen Ice Shelf owes its very existence to a down-faulted low valley that has acted as a glacial ice container (see research on the Bentley Subglacial Trench of the West Antarctic Rift / Fault).

Next let’s review in more detail a few of the key very local areas on the Figure 1 map which will help clarify the power and recent activity of these areas.

First up, the Seal Nunataks area which is labeled on the Figure 1 map as “16 Semi-Active Volcanoes”.  In general, these volcanoes lie within and push up through the northern portion of the Larsen Ice Shelf (Figure 3). More specifically, the Larsen Ice Shelf is formally divided into three sub-areas: northern “A” segment, central “B” segment, and southern “C” segment.

The 16 Seal Nunataks‘ volcanoes are strongly aligned in a west to east fashion and are designated as the boundary between the Larsen “A” and B” segments. This 50-mile-long and 10-mile-wide chain of visible land volcanoes has likely been continuously volcanically active for at least the last 123 years based on limited amounts of data from this remote and largely unmonitored area.

Each time humans have visited this area they have recorded obvious signs of heat and heated fluid flow in the form of: fresh lava flows on volcanoes, volcanic ash on new snow, and volcanic debris in relatively new glacial ice.

Remember, these observations only document volcanic activity on exposed land surfaces, and not the associated volcanic activity occurring on the seafloor of this huge volcanic platform. More modern research published in 2014 by Newcastle University is here interpreted to indicate that the Larsen “B” portion of the greater Larsen Ice Shelf pulsed a massive amount of heat in 2002.

Research elevation instruments showed that a huge portion of the Larsen “B” area quickly rose up, likely in response to swelling of underlying deep earth lava pockets (mantle magma chambers). This process heated the overlying uplifted ground. This heated ground then acted to bottom melt the overlying glaciers (quote below).

This is an awesome display of the power geologically induced heat flow can have on huge expanses of glacial ice.

“Scientists led by Newcastle University in the UK studied the impact of the collapse of the giant Larsen B ice shelf in 2002, using Global Positioning System (GPS) stations to gauge how the Earth’s mantle responded to the relatively sudden loss of billions of tonnes of ice as glaciers accelerated. As expected, the bedrock rose without the weight but at a pace – as much as 5 centimetres a year in places – that was about five times the rate that could be attributed by the loss of ice mass alone”, said Matt King, now at the University of Tasmania (UTAS), who oversaw the work. “It’s like the earth in 2002 was prodded by a stick, a very big stick, and we’ve been able to watch how it responded,” Professor King said. “We see the earth as being tremendously dynamic and always changing, responding to the forces.”  Such dynamism – involving rocks hundreds of kilometres below the surface moving “like honey” – could have implications for volcanoes in the region. Professor King said. (see here)

Figure 3  Map of the Seal Nunataks 16 Semi-active volcanoes relative to the three
Larsen Ice Shelf segments, “A”, “B”, and “C” (see here). Also, a historical aerial photo
of several Seal Nunatak volcanic cones pushing up through the Larsen Ice Shelf.

It is clear that the vast Seal Nunataks’ volcanic plateau at the very least pulsed significant amounts of heat and likely heated fluid flow in the following years: 1893, 1968, 1982, 1985, 1988, 2002, 2010.

The next key local area on the Figure 1 map is portion labeled as “6 Semi-Active Volcanoes” of which two are seamounts (seafloor volcanoes) and four are land volcanoes.

All of these geological features are known to be currently emitting heat and heated fluid flow, however the rate and volume of this flow is not well understood. The most noteworthy feature is Deception Island, which is a huge six-mile-wide collapsed land volcano (caldera).

This volcanic feature: extends a great distance outward and downward into the surrounding ocean, has been earthquake active in the years 1994 / 1995 / 1996, and has moderately erupted in the years 1820, 1906 / 1910 / 1967 / 1969 / 1992.

Early explorers used the harbor created by this collapsed volcano, however, on occasion they had to abandon their moorings when the seawater in the harbor boiled (see quote below). More modern research stations in the 1960s had to temporarily abandon the island due to moderate eruptions.

“The fifth volcano, off the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, is a crater that has been ruptured by the sea to form a circular harbor known as Deception Island. Beginning in the 1820s, it was used as shelter by sealing fleets from New England and later by whalers. On occasion, water in that harbor has boiled, peeling off bottom paint from the hulls of ships that did not escape in time. An eruption a decade ago damaged research stations established there by both Britain and Chile. This volcano and the two newly discovered ones on the opposite side of the peninsula, the longest on earth, are thought to be formed by lava released from a southeastward-moving section of the Pacific floor that is burrowing under the peninsula in the same process thought to have formed the Andean mountain system farther north, in South America.” (see here)

The last two key local areas on the Figure 1 map are labeled as “1 Erupting and 5 Semi-Active Volcanoes” and “3 Erupting Volcanoes. These two areas represent major currently erupting land volcanoes that are spewing huge amount of ash into the atmosphere, and most importantly, massive amounts of heat and heated fluid flow into the surrounding ocean (see here and here).

These ongoing eruptions all lie along, and are generated by, deep earth faulting associated with the northern extension of the West Antarctic Rift / Fault System (red lines on Figure 1 map). The reader is directed to previous Climate Change Dispatch articles detailing heat flow and volcanic activity along this West Antarctic 5,000-mile-long fault system (see here and here)

Reviewing how mega-geological forces drive Earth’s internal heat engine also has direct bearing on what is fueling the Larsen Ice Shelf Break-up as follows:

  • Earth is undergoing an extremely active period of volcanic and earthquake activity during the last three years especially major deep ocean fault systems such as those associated with the Pacific Rim of Fire and Icelandic Mid-Atlantic Ocean Rift. It makes perfect sense that the West Antarctic Rift / Fault System which underlies the Larsen Ice Shelf has also become more active of during this time frame.
  • The 2015-2016 El Niño Ocean “Warm Blob” has now been proven to be caused / generated by “natural forces”, and not manmade or other purely atmospheric forces. These natural forces are almost certainly geological as per numerous previous Climate Change Dispatch articles (see here and here). If geological forces have the power to warm the entire Pacific Ocean, they can certainly act to warm the ocean beneath the Larsen Ice Shelf.
  • Climate scientists favoring manmade Global Warming continue to force fit all anomalous warming events into an atmospheric framework because this is the only abundant data source they have available. However, there is very little global atmospheric data that supports rapid local Larsen Ice Shelf melting or local rapid ocean warming. Most global atmospheric data indicates that the Antarctic atmosphere is cooling or not changing temperature.
  • The surface of our planet is 70% water and 90 % of all active volcanoes are present on the floor of Earth’s oceans. Quite amazingly only 3-5% of the ocean floors have been explored by human eyes, and virtually none of this area is monitored. This is especially true in the nearly unexplored / completely unmonitored deep regions of the oceans in and around the Larsen Ice Shelf.
  • It just makes sense that if major rift / fault zones that from the boundary of Earth’s outer crustal plates that have the power to move entire continents 1-2inches per year, certainly have the power to warm oceans as per the Plate Climatology Theory. The Weddell Sea which surrounds the Larsen Ice Shelf, no problem.

In summary, huge amounts of research and other readily available information clearly indicates that the Larsen Ice shelf lies within a geologically active region. Media reports that do not mention this aspect relative to the potential cause of bottom melting and subsequent break-up of the Larsen “A”, “B”, and “C” glaciers are best characterized as “Fake News” and not “97% Proven / the Debate is Over” news.

Thankfully there are smaller media venues such as Climate Change Dispatch that provide scientists with a platform to present viable alternative explanations to complicated climate and climate-related events, specifically in this case…. Antarctica’s Larsen Ice Shelf Break-Up is Fueled by Geological Heat Flow and Not Climate Change.

Reference

Read more at: www.plateclimatology.com

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Comments (7)

  • Avatar

    jerry krause

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    Hi James Edward Kamis,

    I compliment you on your excellent scholarship. What little, as you note, has been observed cannot be ignored (dismissed). You know the importance of the recent observations and studies as the volcanic activity being observed did not occur thousands or millions or more years ago. When there were no humans to directly observe and report any volcanic activity that might have occurred so long ago.

    Good article and good scholarship.

    Have a good day, Jerry

    Reply

  • Avatar

    Soulful Truth

    |

    Heat from Antarctic volcanoes has been escalating exponentially over the past several years which is why the sea ice and ice shelves have been rapidly melting and breaking into pieces – even during the Antarctic winter when the ice shelves were normally frozen solid and encased in sea ice – although the horror of the melting ice continues to escalate along the South Sandwich Islands and the northern “Antarctic Peninsula” – which isn’t actually a peninsula – that melt rate is dwarfed by the ice melt from Thwaites and Pine Island which are south of the South Pacific, along the Amundsen Sea.

    We also have the rapid ice melt from Brunt Ice Shelf, Larsen Ice Shelf, Nansen Ice Shelf, the Ross Ice Shelf, Lambert, Amery… on and on and on… what happens when these rapidly melting ice shelves can no longer hold in place the thousands of colossal glaciers?

    The glaciers then crash into the sea which displaces massive volumes of seawater which launches colossal tsunami waves that displace the other ice shelves which results in thousands of colossal glaciers displacing more seawater which results in launching thousands of colossal tsunami waves that hurl the islands to the seafloor which displaces more seawater which launches more colossal tsunami waves that trigger a ricocheted domino effect of decimation from the Antarctic to the Arctic in under 24 hours.

    We know this because it’s clearly documented in historic records – with the exact date recorded in different languages by people more than 16,000 km apart – the public isn’t told this just as the public isn’t told the truth about the true timeline for the Antarctic mountains, glaciers, ice shelves, as well as the true timeline for the continents, oceans and ocean trenches, the true timeline for the mountains, the broken and subducted tectonic plates, the true timeline for the cataclysms, the true timeline for the explosion of dozens of “supervolcanoes” and thousands of smaller volcanoes – which erupted on the same day – on and on the ignorance goes – anyone who wants the true timeline for the Antarctic mountains, the Antarctic glaciers and Antarctic ice can find it in the captain’s logs, going back hundreds of years, which is corroborated by the photos from the Antarctic expeditions of the early 1900’s.

    Anyone who wants the true timeline for our other mountains, our continents, our oceans and ocean trenches, our broken and subducted tectonic plates, the explosions of the supervolcanoes, the true date of the explosion of Vesuvius and the destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum, the true timeline for the Grand Canyon, the true timeline for the boot of Italy, the true timeline for the Arabian Peninsula, the true timeline for the cataclysms known as the Siberian and Deccan Traps, the true timeline for the cataclysms known as Eltanin and Nuuanu, etc., can find ALL of this clearly documented in historic records, written in over a dozen languages from all across our Earth.

    Those who are satisfied with “theories” are free to cling to their unintelligent fake science gods that graduated with a C average from low level institutions with minimal entrance requirements.

    Reply

    • Avatar

      Matt

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      Great movie script but you missed out the part where the rebounding tsunamis were promulgated by fire and methane breathing aliens for the purposes of holding intergalactic tsunami surfing competitions
      It is not too late to do a rewrite to avoid wasted opportunities. So wasted.

      Reply

      • Avatar

        Soulful Truth

        |

        Matt, decades of studying hundreds of independent historic documents, written in over a dozen languages from all across our Earth, which are corroborated by thousands of other independent sources, is the task for those who actually care about the truth – since the truth has never been on your priority list, you didn’t bother to study chemistry and physics for decades like I did, you didn’t bother to study geological formations, wave propagation, cataclysms, languages, the historic documents, etc. – so you go ahead and laugh yourself silly while those of us who actually did the decades of work are doing our best to warn the public of the hell on Earth that’s rapidly approaching.

        Reply

        • Avatar

          Matt

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          Hi Soulful,
          I know a little about the difference between belief systems and science, constancy from insanity.
          I also know truth is a relative thing, from whose perspective, and of course the great independent arbiter of truth is an amalgam of hindsight and the ability to drop false paradigms and to learn and grow.
          Hindsight illustrates if a truth has been falsified.
          Enjoy your truths and deferments.
          Stay safe.
          Matt

          Reply

  • Avatar

    Matt

    |

    What a fascinating article.
    !

    Reply

  • Avatar

    Peter C

    |

    Thanks James Edward Kamis,

    Excellent and well researched.

    Here is one more reference.
    Reading that took me back to something I read quite a while ago; Target Antarctica – a novel by Hammond Innes, published 1994.
    Edwin Cruse, an ex RAF pilot with a reputation for risky flying, gets offered a Hercules transport aircraft in flying condition for just 10,000 pound, an unbelievably low price. The only problem is that the price is conditional on ‘as is where is”. The Hercules is perched on the edge of the Larsen Ice shelf and another bit has just broken off, taking most of the ice runway. The C130 Hercules has a reputation for short take off, but not that short (something like 300m). So the Hercules is a write off unless Edwin can fly it off. At least the edge of the ice is elevated so it is like taking off from an aircraft carrier.
    Edwin meets some people who could make good use of the Hercules (if he makes off the ice) to recover some valuable treasure.
    Edwin gets off the ice shelf but the Treasure is lost for a remarkable reason. A volcano under the ice erupts, just as he is about to land, and the treasure is lost forever.
    The remarkable thing about the novel is that all these things about the Larsen Ice shelf were well known when Hammond Innes wrote his novel in 1994. I have read some of his other novels and they were very well researched.

    Your article confirms that.

    Reply

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