According To BGR Report, A Long Dormant Submarine Volcano Near Antarctica May Have Erupted, Triggering 85000 Earthquakes In The Region** The Research Station Reported These Earthquakes As Early As August 2020. They Lasted Several Months And Subsided In November Of The Same Year. Since Then, Researchers Have Been Looking For The Reasons Behind The Earthquake.
Researchers Believe That Magma "fingers" From An Undersea Volcano Near Antarctica Caused The Earthquake. This Volcano Is Called Orca Seamount. It Is An Undersea Volcano That Rises 2950 Feet From The Bottom Of The Sea. Orca Seamount Is Located In Bransfield Strait, A Narrow Passage Between The Northwest End Of Antarctica And The South Shetland Islands.
This Area Is Also The Location Of The Phoenix Plate. A 2018 Study Said The Plate Is Currently "digging" Under The Continental Plate Of Antarctica. As A Result Of These Movements, Multiple Fault Zones Have Been Produced In This Area. These Areas Stretch The Crust Of The Region And Open Cracks Elsewhere.
Using Data From King George Island Research Station And The Global Satellite Navigation System Station, Researchers Can Measure Ground Displacement. Based On These Data, They Believe That Submarine Volcanoes Near Antarctica May Have Erupted, Leading To Swarm Earthquakes In 2020.
Scientists At The Research Station On King George Island First Felt The Earthquake When The Swarm Began To Occur. The News Of The Earthquake Was Sent Back To Simone Cesca, A Seismologist At The GFZ German Geoscience Research Center In Potsdam. Cesca Told Live Science That Similar Earthquakes Have Occurred In Other Parts Of Our Planet.
'we're Lucky To See This Happen,' Cesca Said. They Usually Occur On The "geological Time Scale" Rather Than Human Life Span. Overall, Researchers Believe That Volcanoes Near Antarctica Have Caused Many Earthquakes. These Include The Magnitude 5.9 And 6.0 Earthquakes That Occurred In October And November, Respectively. They Believe That These Large Earthquakes Are The Cause Of Ground Displacement.
Overall, The Ground On King George Island Moved About 4.3 Inches. Researchers In earth And Environment Communication 》The Journal Published Their Findings On These Earthquakes. Unfortunately, Without Diving Into The Seabed, There Is No Way To Fully Determine Whether Submarine Volcanoes Are The Cause Of The Swarm.