Kamresse Bounds & Ben Howard Dept. of Geology, Colby College

Mount Erebus

www.gopixpic.com

Basic Information:

Discovered in 1841 by James Ross

Ross Island, Antarctica

Located on Antarctic plate

Elevation of 3794 meters

Stratovolcano

4 active vents

Lava lake

Inner crater, main crater floor, side crater and a “phreatic” crater

http://uofa.ualberta.ca/science/science-news/2014/october/fire-and-ice-part-i

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/07/mount-erebus/peter-photography

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/07/mount-erebus/judson-text

Eruptive History:

Has erupted roughly 13 times since 1900

Currently erupting

Current eruption began in 1972

Frequent strombolian eruptions with rare lava flows and infrequent ash eruptions

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Erebus

Observed Eruptions and Hazards:

Eruptions cause lava bombs

Bombs up to 10 feet wide

50 bombs ejected a day

No real hazards posed to humans due to lack of population

Eruptive styles tend to be timid

Air New Zealand Flight 901 crashed into Mount Erebus in 1979, 257 killed

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Phonolite_Volcanic_Bombs_from_Mt_Erebus.jpg

Rocks and Deposits:

The petrology consists mostly of phonolite, basanite and phono-tephrite deposits

Minor deposits include trachyte and trachyandesite

Chemistry of lava flows consists largely of Si02 (64%)

Al2O3 (15%), FeO (6%), Na2O (7%), K2O (5%)

http://www.crpg.cnrs-nancy.fr/Science/Collection/Volcaniques.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basanite https://www.studyblue.com/notes/note/n/igneous-rocks/deck/9290123

http://www.quazoo.com/q/Trachyandesite

Volcanic Form:

Cinder cone on top of shield volcano

Cinder cone at summit created over the past 1000 years

Although there are rare lava flows inside of crater, much activity comes from lava lake

http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/author/kensims/

Active Monitoring: Mount Erebus Volcano Observatory provides seismic activity reports

Frequent images are posted by Mount Erebus Volcano Observatory

Other information such as wind speed, tilt and temperature are reported

  

http://imgarcade.com/1/mount-erebus-eruption-2011/

Ice Caves:

Ice tongue created from steam off of Erebus

33 feet high

Ice caves extend off from tongue

Stalactite icicles

Attraction for research station occupants

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/07/mount-erebus/peter-photography

Firsthand Footage

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6qOT0Xirvg

   

Works Cited:

"Erebus." Smithsonian Institution Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian      Institution, 2103. Web. 24 Jan. 2015. <http://volcano.si.edu/      volcano.cfm?vn=390020>. 

"Erebus Ice Tongue." Wikipedia. N.p., 1 Dec. 2014. Web. 25 Jan. 2015.      <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erebus_Ice_Tongue>. 

Helmuth, Laura. "Antarctica Erupts!" Smithsonian Dec. 2006: n. pag. MAS Ultra -      School Edition. Web. 24 Jan. 2015.      <http://lw5cz6wa6g.search.serialssolutions.com/      ?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/      summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/      fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=ANTARCTICA+ERUPTS&rft.jtitle=Smi      thsonian&rft.au=Laura+Helmuth&rft.date=2006-12-01&rft.pub=Smithsonian+Magazine&rf      t.issn=0037-7333&rft.eissn=1930-5508&rft.volume=37&rft.issue=9&rft.spage=58&rft.e      xternalDocID=1174853701¶mdict=en-US>.

Judson, Olivia. "Life in an Icy Inferno." National Geographic. N.p., July 2012.      Web. 24 Jan. 2015. <http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/07/      mount-erebus/judson-text>. 

"Mount Erebus." Wikipedia. N.p., 23 Jan. 2015. Web. 25 Jan. 2015.      <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Erebus>.

Mount Erebus Volcano Observatory. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2015.      <http://erebus.nmt.edu/index.php>. 

NASA Earth Observatory. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2015.      <http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=37043>.