© Independent
Some of the biggest volcanic eruptions of the last 2,000 years have left their indelible mark deep within the pristine ice sheet of the Antarctic, a study has found.
Scientists have been able to trace the most complete history of volcanic eruptions since the birth of Christ by analysing deposits of sulphate dust in a series of ice cores drilled deep into the West Antarctic ice sheet.
The time series from 26 separate ice cores drilled out from 19 different sites shows that there were 116 volcanic eruptions in the past two millennia that were big enough to result in plumes of volcanic sulphate dust being transported as far as the South Pole.
Most the eruptions cannot be identified, however the biggest, in 1257, was already hinted at from medieval chronicles and tree rings. Scientists identified the sulphate deposits as coming from the Samalas volcano on Lombok Island of Indonesia.
Comment: Previously thought to be extensions of a single volcano, Mauna Loa is actually flanked by a curving line of individual volcanoes that include Kilauea, Mauna Kea and Kohala. Its summit is 56,000 feet above its base on the sea floor. Four distinct earthquake swarms have occurred since March 2013, all less than magnitude 2.2, save one that registered 3.5 on May 9, 2014, and have been occurring in the same areas of the volcano as those in the years prior to 1984. They are, so far, consistent with a model requiring rocks around the core to adjust to stress changes within the core. While Mauna Loa is not located along the Ring of Fire, it is likely that whatever disturbances and earth changes provoking recent Pac Rim activity are also escalating changes in other areas under the ocean.