A review of Volcanic activity at Mount Erebus, Ross Island, Antarctica

Abstract

Mount Erebus is a polygenetic stratovolcano which dominates the landscape of the Southern Ross Island area of Antarctica. Located on Ross Island in the Ross Sea region, the volcano stands 3794 metres above sea level (MEVO, 2002) and is one of four volcanic cones that occupy Ross Island. The mountain has captivated people for some 140 years since Sir James Ross discovered and named it after one Of his ships in 1941. The other three volcanoes on Ross Island, Mt Bird, Mt Terra Nova and Mt Terror are now extinct. Mount Erebus, on the other hand, is far from extinct and has been in continuous eruptive phase since the early 1970's. Presently, strombolian eruptions occur daily from the volcano, throwing ash, lava, blocks and bombs hundreds, sometimes thousands of metres into the air and dispersing ejecta over a wide area. In volcanological terms, Mt Erebus has many special properties. Aside from being the world's Southern-most active volcano, Mt Erebus hosts the only phonolitic magma lake in the world (Kyle, 1981). The lava lake was first discovered in 1972 and is still present in approximately the same place it has been for the past 30 years. Due to its recent active nature, the volcano is not considered to pose much of a threat to the people living and working in Antarctica. Its continual eruptions allow the volcano to release gases such as SO, and C02, gases which if allowed to build up inside a volcano can make for very violent explosive type eruptions. However, the upper flanks of the volcano are made up of large-scale lava flows that suggest that the volcano's patterns activity have changed Over the estimated 1.3 million years that it has been active. It can thelefore be assumed that a change in eruption style could occur again, increasing the risk to human life. Mount Erebus is a polygenetic stratovolcano which dominates the landscape of the Southern Ross Island area of Antarctica. Located on Ross Island in the Ross Sea region, the volcano stands 3794 metres above sea level (MEVO, 2002) and is one of four volcanic cones that occupy Ross Island. The mountain has captivated people for some 140 years since Sir James Ross discovered and named it after one Of his ships in 1941. The other three volcanoes on Ross Island, Mt Bird, Mt Terra Nova and Mt Terror are now extinct. Mount Erebus, on the other hand, is far from extinct and has been in continuous eruptive phase since the early 1970's. Presently, strombolian eruptions occur daily from the volcano, throwing ash, lava, blocks and bombs hundreds, sometimes thousands of metres into the air and dispersing ejecta over a wide area. In volcanological terms, Mt Erebus has many special properties. Aside from being the world's Southern-most active volcano, Mt Erebus hosts the only phonolitic magma lake in the world (Kyle, 1981). The lava lake was first discovered in 1972 and is still present in approximately the same place it has been for the past 30 years. Due to its recent active nature, the volcano is not considered to pose much of a threat to the people living and working in Antarctica. Its continual eruptions allow the volcano to release gases such as SO, and C02, gases which if allowed to build up inside a volcano can make for very violent explosive type eruptions. However, the upper flanks of the volcano are made up of large-scale lava flows that suggest that the volcano's patterns activity have changed Over the estimated 1.3 million years that it has been active. It can thelefore be assumed that a change in eruption style could occur again, increasing the risk to human life.