Are Undersea Volcanoes a Cause of Melting Sea Ice?
There are volcanoes we know about and volcanoes we don’t know about. Both types can influence changes in ship transportation. 
There are active volcanoes that spew fumes into the atmosphere and release red-hot molten lava across the East Indies. The volcanoes of Hawaii spew molten, red-hot lava that flows toward the sea where it solidifies and adds to the coastline. Other volcanoes are active on the West Coast of South America.
Only in recent years – and courtesy of undersea cameras capable of operating at great depths and under extreme external pressure – has it become possible to view active undersea volcanoes that release red-hot lava near the sea floor of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, including as far north as Greenland and Scandinavia. And it was even more recently that some researchers suggested a possible undersea volcano releasing lava in Antarctic and contributing to melting sea ice in that region.
Arctic Hot Springs
A tectonic plate follows the west coasts of North and South America, extending as far north as the Beaufort Sea in northern Alaska. Several volcanoes are known to exist in southwestern Alaska while near the resort of Banff, in the Canadian Rockies, heated water flows from deep in the earth to the surface as hot springs.
It is possible that the sea floor under the Beaufort Sea may be the location of a dormant underwater hot spring, or perhaps not so dormant. One theory suggests that the earth’s magnetic field has shifted and moved magnetic north to a different location, a shift with the potential to trigger seismic activity, earthquakes and volcanic activity.
The Arctic Current flows from the North Atlantic Drift that carries warm seawater northward from the tropical region, flowing through the Norwegian Sea between Iceland and Norway before traversing the northern coast of Russia and toward the Bering Strait and the Beaufort Sea. The North Pacific Current flows toward the North American coast and then divides, with a north current flowing westward along Alaska’s southwestern coast and in close proximity to a known volcanic area.
The ocean current reverses direction annually in the Arabian Sea, and occasionally reversing ocean currents can trigger the El Nino weather phenomena. A reversing current flowing north through the Bering Strait could carry a small amount of additional heat from underwater springs located along Alaska’s southwest coast as well as under the Bering Sea. A current flowing from north of the Bering Strait would flow over the deep section of the Beaufort Sea located north of the Brooks Range, possibly picking up a small amount of additional heat released from occasionally active underwater hot springs.
As previously noted, an undersea volcano quietly releasing heated water and possibly molten lava in Antarctic may be contributing to the melting of sea ice in that region. A source of geothermal heat in the form of undersea volcanoes is also located under the Bering Sea and off Alaska’s southwestern coast, raising the potential for a source of undersea geothermal heat in close proximity to the Arctic Current.
A portion of the Arctic Current flows along Northern Canada’s coastline through Amundsen Gulf, then through Dolphin and Union Strait, followed by Coronation Gulf, Dease Strait, Queen Maud Gulf, Simpson Strait and then Rae Strait. During winter when pack ice covers the Beaufort Sea and serves as an insulation layer, liquid water continues to flow under the sea ice and carry possible heat from underwater hot springs through the channels of Canada’s Northwest Passage, potentially increasing the navigation season. Heat from underwater volcanoes and hot springs located between Iceland and Norway could also extend Russia’s Arctic navigation season.
Conclusions
Active undersea volcanoes and related underwater hot springs could form the basis of an alternative theory of melting sea ice.
An active undersea volcano in Antarctic is releasing heat into the sea in that region and believed to be contributing to melting the ice cover, the possible result of a shift in the earth’s magnetic field.
While known surface ocean currents flow across the Atlantic Ocean, theorists suggest that a counter current flows at great depths. Such a current would flow close to undersea volcanoes and volcanic vents that release heat at great ocean depths, with the potential to carry some of that heat to very distant locations.
The North Atlantic Drift passes directly above known undersea volcanoes located in the North Atlantic, under the Norwegian Sea between Iceland and Norway. It could carry some heat released by a recently re-activated undersea volcano toward the Barents Sea and Russia’s northern coast, with the potential to extend the Arctic navigation season.
A geothermal hot spring is believed to release heat from under the ice cover of Greenland, some 800 kms (500 miles) from Iceland’s volcanic zone and possibly contribute to the melting of ice in that region.
Slightly warmer seawater, perhaps heated by geothermal energy emitted from undersea hot springs near Iceland, may flow along Russia’s northern coast and toward the Beaufort Sea. The very slightly warmer Arctic Current could pick up small amounts of additional geothermal heat from underwater hot springs located north of the Bering Strait and off Alaska’s northern coast, then carry some of that heat into Canada’s Northwest Passage.
Undersea volcanoes and underwater hot springs could cause local sea temperatures in some regions of the world to increase very slightly. Prevailing winds could then blow the slightly warmer water and carry slightly more heat from the ocean toward land, possibly affecting local climates. – MarEx
Harry Valentine is a frequent contributor to the newsletter. He can be reached at [email protected]. MarEx does not necessarily endorse any opinions herein.
Reader Comment: A recent study on undersea volcanoes has indicated that: “In response to those who are using his study to deny climate change, Schroeder confirmed that volcanic activity is not the dominant force of ice loss and rising sea levels.”
Therefore geothermal heating – from undersea volcanoes – is not enough by itself to have caused the observed changes in polar ice.
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