Antarctica: Dormant underwater volcano awakens, causing 85,000 swarms of earthquakes

A dormant underwater volcano in Antarctica called ‘Sea Mountain Orca’ has awakened and caused 85,000 swarms of earthquakes. The tremors began between August 2020 and continued through November 2020, according to new research. This event is the most powerful seismic eruption ever recorded in Antarctica.

Scientists claim that volcanic earthquakes were caused by magma flowing into the crust, based on the research. After the volcanic eruption and earthquakes, the region is likely to experience similar geological phenomena later in the future.

Awaken a dormant volcano

(Photo: David McNew/Getty Images)

In the new paper published in Communications Earth & Environment on April 11, scientists from research stations in King George Island, the South Shetland Islands, initially felt the shock of low-intensity earthquake swarms and transmitted the seismic recordings to colleagues around the world.

Their colleagues include Simon Cesca, co-author of the study and a seismologist from the German GFZ Research Center for Geosciences in Potsdam, Germany. Cesca states that there are related earthquake swarms globally, but earthquakes in Antarctica were first observed by humans, according to Live Science.

A seismologist based in Germany has highlighted the frequency and size of earthquake swarms that typically occur over long geological time scales, the equivalent of a single human lifespan. As a result, observing the accident was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

An identifiable major earthquake and its subsequent aftershocks differ from earthquake swarms, which are defined as short-lived, recurring tremors that can last for up to several days, weeks or months, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

Read also: An imminent volcanic eruption or a major earthquake is possible in the Azores Archipelago

Orca sea mountain

Orca Offshore is an inactive volcano near King George Island. The seamount is three kilometers wide and rises 2,950 feet (900 meters) from the sea floor in the Bransfield Strait between the South Shetland Islands and Antarctica, according to Live Science.

Before the swarms, there had been a long-held notion that an inactive underwater volcano had erupted in the past due to indications of temperature differences in the seawater surrounding the seamount.

The region consists of the Phoenix tectonic plate that sinks beneath the Antarctic continental plate and creates a network of fault zones. This increases seismic and volcanic activities, resulting in major earthquakes, aftershocks, and swarms alike, according to a separate study published in Polar Science.

volcanic earthquake

Small earthquakes that occur around the Orca seamount are called volcanic earthquakes. Since independent volcanic eruptions and earthquakes can be caused by the movement of tectonic plates, a volcanic eruption can also cause earthquakes.

According to the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network (PNSN), “volcano-induced earthquakes” can also cause infrastructure damage, fissures, and ground deformation similar to earthquakes that were not caused by a volcano.

Also called volcano-tectonic earthquakes (VTs), volcanic earthquakes are usually caused by slipping on a fault line near the volcano.

In the case of the seamount Orca, the research team in the new study suspects that the land beneath it has been altered by the movement of magma that has passed through some of the fractures.

Furthermore, Siska emphasized that there is no direct evidence of a volcanic eruption from a previously dormant seamount. However, the earthquakes are a clear indication that the dormant underwater shield volcano is active again.

Related article: 20,000 swarms of earthquakes could cause volcanic eruptions in Iceland, experts say

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