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Mount Erebus

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1730195487Screenshot 2024-10-29 151804.jpg

Topic: Volcanoes

Why in the news?

  • Mount Erebus, Antarctica\'s tallest volcano, has started releasing tiny gold particles daily. These particles, carried by the wind, have been found up to 621 miles away. 
  • Producing approximately 64.4 pounds of gold annually, the volcano\'s remote and volatile nature makes mining dangerous despite the gold\'s estimated value of $2 million.

Source: The Times of India

About Mount Erebus:

  • It is the most southerly active volcano on Earth.
  • 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, which 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.

Stratovolcanoes:

  • These are tall, steep, and cone-shaped type of volcanoes.
  • 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.
  • They 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.
  • Their 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 lava and pyroclastic material, and the layering of these products gives 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.

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