Page 16 - IAV Digital Magazine #593

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Active Volcano In Antarctica Spews Tiny Crystals of Gold Worth $6,000 A Day
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Sa6jvo62hg
By Monica
Danielle, Accuweathe r.com
It sounds like a dream, but it's true in Antarctica, gold rains from the sky. Tucked in among the gla- ciers, fiery Mount
Erebus is the south- ernmost active vol- cano on Earth, pro- viding a bit of heat amid the frozen land- scape.
The frozen continent features 138 volca- noes, according to
a 2017 study, with around nine of them reported as active. With a summit eleva- tion of 12,448 feet (3,794 meters), Mount Erebus is the most well-known.
Erebus is one of
three volcanoes that form Ross Island, and it's said that it was erupting when it was discovered in 1841 during the voy- age of
Captain James Clark Ross, who carried out important mag- netic surveys in the Arctic and Antarctic and discovered the Ross Sea and the Victoria Land region of Antarctica. 'HMS Erebus' was the name of one of his ships.
Scientists still observe the volcano through the Mount Erebus Volcano Observatory and con- duct field campaigns to look for extreme life forms. The largest Antarctic settlement- McMurdo Station, operated by the United States-is located about 25 south of Mount Erebus and is within sight of the volcano.
Satellite images of
the volcano reveal
a lava lake that's been bubbling since at least 1972, accord- ing to IFL Science.
The volcano regularly pumps out plumes of gas and steam and has been known to eject boulders of par- tially molten rock known as "volcanic bombs."
While volcanic bombs are exciting, it's the bursts of gas spray- ing tiny crystals of metallic gold that sur- prise scientists, who estimate the volcano spews around 80 grams of gold a day - - that's worth around $6,000.
The gold has been found hundreds of miles away from Mount
Erebus. Antarctic researchers have detected traces of the gold dust in ambient air up to 621 miles away from the vol- cano.
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine