volcanic ash from eruptions within the Antarctic Circle. It is likely that an eruption at lower latitudes would cause global health and aviation hazards due to ash disbursement. The clockwise air circulation around the low pressure system at the South Pole forces air upwards, hypothetically sending ash upwards towards the Stratospheric jet streams, and thus quickly dispersing it throughout the globe. Melting ice Recently, in 2017, a study found evidence of subglacial volcanic activity within the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. This activity poses a threat to the stability of the Ice Sheet, as volcanic activity leads to increased melting. This could possibly plunge the West Antarctic Ice Sheet into a positive feedback loop of rising temperatures and increased melting. Canyons There are three vast canyons that run for hundreds of kilometers, cutting through tall mountains. None of the canyons are visible at the snow-covered surface of the continent since they are buried under hundreds of meters of ice. The largest of the canyons is called Foundation Trough and is over 350 km long and 35 km wide. The Patuxent Trough is more than 300 km long and over 15 km wide, while the Offset Rift Basin is 150 km long and 30 km wide. These three troughs all lie under and cross the so-called "ice divide" - the high ice ridge that runs all the way from the South Pole out towards the coast of West Antarctica. West Antarctica West Antarctica is the smaller part of the continent, (50° – 180°W), divided into: Areas Antarctic Peninsula (55° – 75°W) Graham Land Palmer Land Queen Elizabeth Land (20°W – 80°W) Ellsworth Land (79°45' – 103°24'W) English Coast Bryan Coast Eights Coast Marie Byrd Land (103°24' – 158°W) Walgreen Coast Bakutis Coast Hobbs Coast Ruppert Coast Saunders Coast King Edward VII Land (166°E – 155°W) Shirase Coast Seas Scotia Sea (26°30' – 65°W) Weddell Sea (57°18' – 102°20'W) Bellingshausen Sea (57°18' – 102°20'W) Amundsen Sea (102°20′ – 126°W) Ice shelves Larger ice shelves are: Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf (30° – 83°W) Larsen Ice Shelf Abbot Ice Shelf (89°35' – 103°W) Getz Ice Shelf (114°30' – 136°W) Sulzberger Ice Shelf Ross Ice Shelf (166°E – 155°W) For all ice shelves see List of Antarctic ice shelves. Islands For a list of all Antarctic islands see List of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands. East Antarctica East Antarctica is the larger part of the continent, (50°W –