New studies of the West Antarctic Rift revealed 91 new volcanoes hidden beneath the ice sheet.

Their height is from 100 to 3850 meters, the thickness of the ice covering them in some places exceeds 4 km, reports on August 13, referring to Sky News.

Scientists from the University of Edinburgh conducted research using radar from the air and from the ground, the obtained data were compared with the available images from space. It was previously known that there are 47 subglacial volcanoes in the region.

Geologists explain that the system resembles the East African volcanic massif, which was previously considered the largest concentration of volcanoes in the world.

It is not yet clear whether the detected volcanoes are active, but past studies show that volcanic activity is possible in periods of warming in the region. A possible eruption probably will not melt the entire thickness of ice covering the volcanoes, but this may be enough to drastically change the whole of Antarctica.

Given global warming and the gradual melting of ice in the Antarctic, scientists say, it can be assumed that as the ice thickness decreases over volcanoes, they can become more active.