00:00As glaciers melt, the planet might be facing a hidden explosive threat.
00:04Volcanoes are waking up.
00:06Across Antarctica, Russia, New Zealand and North America,
00:09hundreds of volcanoes lie beneath thick glaciers.
00:12But new research shows these icy blankets have been keeping eruptions in check.
00:16Now, with rising temperatures, that protection is disappearing.
00:19Scientists studying volcanoes in Chile found that during the last ice age,
00:23glacier cover suppressed volcanic blasts.
00:26But once the ice melted, pressure built up fast,
00:29triggering massive explosive eruptions.
00:32This same chain reaction could now repeat worldwide.
00:35When glaciers retreat, magma expands, gas pressure builds,
00:39and the Earth's crust cracks open violently.
00:42Worse yet, volcanic eruptions release greenhouse gases.
00:45That means more eruptions could actually speed up global warming.
00:49And the warmer it gets, the more ice melts, making future eruptions even more likely.
00:54It's a dangerous loop, melting ice, exploding volcanoes,
00:58and a climate tipping toward disaster.
01:01Music by David
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