Mount Erebus is currently the most active volcano in Antarctica and is the current eruptive zone of the Erebus hotspot. The summit contains a persistent convecting phonolitic lava lake, one of five long-lasting lava lakes on Earth. Characteristic eruptive activity consists of Strombolian eruptions from the lava lake or from one of several subsidiary vents, all within the volcano’s inner crater.[6][7] The volcano is scientifically remarkable in that its relatively low-level and unusually persistent eruptive activity enables long-term volcanological study of a Strombolian eruptive system very close (hundreds of metres) to the active vents, a characteristic shared with only a few volcanoes on Earth, such as Stromboli in Italy. Scientific study of the volcano is also facilitated by its proximity to McMurdo Station (U.S.) and Scott Base (New Zealand), both sited on Ross Island around 35 km away.
Source: Mount Erebus – Wikipedia
Tim B.
“Mt. Erebus is notable for its numerous ice fumaroles – ice towers that form around gases that escape from vents in the surface.[12] The ice caves associated with the fumaroles are dark, in polar alpine environments starved in organics and with oxygenated hydrothermal circulation in highly reducing host rock. The life is sparse, mainly bacteria and fungi. This makes it of special interest for studying oligotrophs – organisms that can survive on minimal amounts of resources.
The caves on Erebus are of special interest for astrobiology,[13] as most surface caves are influenced by human activities, or by organics from the surface brought in by animals (e.g. bats) or ground water.[14] The caves at Erebus are at high altitude, yet accessible for study. Almost no chance exists of photosynthetic-based organics, or of animals in a food chain based on photosynthetic life, and no overlying soil to wash down into them. “
Tim B.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erebus_hotspot
Tim B.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Island
Tim B.
“Most volcanoes have a deep central chamber of molten rock, but it’s typically capped by cooled, solid rock that makes the hot magma inaccessible. On Mount Erebus, the churning magma is exposed at the top of the volcano, in a roiling 1,700-degree Fahrenheit lake perhaps miles deep. ”
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/antarctica-erupts-140405968/
Tim B.
“Mount Erebus had started acting up in early 2005, and when scientists arrived it was erupting several times a day, each time ejecting 50 or so lava bombs. The largest are about ten feet wide—great blobs of bubbly lava that collapse like failed soufflés when they land, some almost a mile away.”
Tim B.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helo_Cliffs
Tim B.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcanic_bomb
Tim B.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP5AdwkriWA
Tim B.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rijn0vz1D5I
Tim B.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pvtu-ADZSU