A project being done by a team of researchers from Scotland's Edinburgh University has revealed a striking number of new Volcanoes in west Antarctica by using radar technology. In a vastly different piece of news out of the cold continent, the New Zealand-based Antarctic Heritage Trust revealed that conservationists had discovered a century-old piece of fruitcake.

91 new volcanoes discovered in West Antarctica

The project done by Edinburgh University has uncovered 91 new volcanoes underneath West Antarctica's gigantic ice sheet. This brings the total number of known volcanoes in that part of the continent to 138.

It is now believed by geologists that west Antarctica could pass east Africa's volcanic ridge, where Mount Kilimanjaro resides, in having the densest concentration of volcanoes anywhere on Earth.

The tallest of these new volcanoes is 2.4 miles (3,862 meters) tall. However, one of the most important questions for scientists following this discovery is if the volcanoes are still active or not. Glacial expert Robert Bingham, who helped co-author the study on these new volcanoes, discussed this in an interview with “The Guardian.”

He said: “If one of those were to erupt it could further destabilize West Antarctica's ice sheets.” That could then mean more melting ice in the region, which would lead to faster sea level rise.

Scientists will have to undertake further tests to determine if any of these volcanoes are active.

More information on the 106-year-old fruitcake

A team of conservationists in Antarctica uncovered an ice-coated piece of fruitcake that is thought to have belonged to British explorer Robert Falcon Scott. It is from his ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition (1910-13) in which he and his crew attempted to become the first to reach the south pole.

Roald Amundsen and his crew reached the south pole five weeks before Scott, who eventually did but died on the return journey.

The fruitcake was found in Antarctica's oldest building, which dates back to 1899 and which Scott and his team visited in 1911, making the piece of dessert 106-years-old. It was found still wrapped in paper and inside its tin-plated iron alloy container.

The dessert was made by British biscuit company “Huntley & Palmers”, which is still around today. A program manager for the Antarctica Heritage Trust said that the fruitcake was in “excellent condition” and that it smelled “almost edible.”
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