Mount Erebus

About Mount Erebus

• It is the most southerly active volcano on Earth.
• Location: It is situated on Ross Island, Antarctica.
• It was discovered in 1841 by the British explorer Sir James Clark Ross, who named it after his ship, the Erebus.
• It stands at an elevation of about 3,794 meters (12,448 feet).
• It’s a stratovolcano, characterized by a conical shape and layers of hardened lava, tephra, and volcanic ash.
• Mount Erebus is known for its persistent lava lake.
  • The lake has been active since at least 1972 and is one of only a few long-lived lava lakes on Earth.
  • It constantly churns and occasionally spews bombs of molten rock in Strombolian eruptions.
• Because the volcano is in a remote location, researchers monitor it using satellites.

What is a Stratovolcano?

• It is a tall, steep, and cone-shaped type of volcano.
• Unlike flat shield volcanoes, they have higher peaks.
• They are typically found above subduction zones, and they are often part of large volcanically active regions, such as the Ring of Fire that frames much of the Pacific Ocean.
• Strato Volcanoes comprise the largest percentage (~60%) of the Earth's individual volcanoes, and most are characterized by eruptions of andesite and dacite, lavas that are cooler and more viscous than basalt.
• These more viscous lavas allow gas pressures to build up to high levels. Therefore, these volcanoes often suffer explosive eruptions.
• They are usually about half-half lavaand pyroclastic material, and the layering of these productsgives them their other common name of composite volcanoes.

At the peak, stratovolcanoes usually have a small crater. The crater may be filled with water or ice, or it may contain a volcanic dome during a period of relative inactivity.

Q1: What are Strombolian eruptions?

Strombolian eruptions are moderately explosive eruptions of basaltic magma with moderate gas content. Strombolian eruptions consist of intermittent, discrete explosive bursts which eject pyroclasts as high as hundreds of feet into the air in firework-like incandescent rooster-tails. The discrete blasts in this eruption style are caused by vesiculation of the lava at the vent. A sustained eruptive column is not developed. Strombolian eruptions are louder than Hawaiian eruptions, and generally are of more viscous magma.

Source: It’s Raining GOLD Worth $6000 Everyday In Antarctica From Mount Erebus, Watch Video