An active volcano in Antarctica is called. Deception Volcano is a mystery of Antarctica. Despechen Scientific Base

Antarctica - a mysterious continent of penguins and white deserts eternal ice, the last of open continents and today little-studied and hidden unsolved secrets. The volcanoes of Antarctica are one of those secrets that are in no hurry to be revealed.

Hidden by ice

Active and extinct, terrestrial and underwater - today the catalog of volcanoes on the Antarctic continent includes about 35 on land, and at least 18 of them are active. The last of them was discovered in 2008, it is hidden under a layer of ice and is located near Pine Island Bay in Mount Hudson. It was discovered when probing the ice cover from the air, but how many of them have not yet been discovered?

First, but not last

The question "Is there Antarctica?" lost its relevance back in 1841, when the expedition of James Ross saw two volcanoes - the active Erebus and the extinct Terror (named after the ships of the expedition). Since then, the study of volcanoes and new discoveries began. Thus, in 2010, reports appeared about the discovery of a whole chain of 12 underwater volcanoes in Antarctica. Using sonar, it was found that the height of some reaches 3 kilometers. Seven of them are active, and under the water there is a crater of an extinct volcano with a diameter of up to 5 kilometers.

Volcano Erebus

The southernmost of all active volcanoes on the planet, Erebus, has a height of almost 4 thousand meters above sea level and a crater with a diameter of 805 meters and a depth of 274 meters. This is one of the three volcanoes on the planet, in the depths of which there is a volcanic inexhaustible lake with lava. This is what gives Erebus its peculiar glow, which has become a beacon for all sailors of the Ross Sea. The last of 8 major eruptions in a hundred years was in 1972, when lava was thrown to the height of an eight-story building.

Conquering Erebus is a matter of honor

For climbing this dangerous volcano it became almost an obsession. The first to conquer it were in 1908 the expedition group of Professor Ernest Shackleton, who was 50 years old. It was these researchers who were the first to see lava lake in the crater.

Geologists from New Zealand set up camp in the main crater in 1974, but volcanic activity prevented them from exploring the inner crater. And although the path to the volcano is blocked by numerous icy peaks, extreme researchers flock to it every year.

Vulcan Deception

In the middle of the Shetlan Islands, 850 kilometers southeast of Cape Horn, the origin of Port Foster Bay is located. It is this active volcano that is considered responsible for the largest known eruption. The volcano was discovered in 1820 by Captain William Smith, and in the 1960s a joint station of Great Britain, Chile and Argentina appeared here. In the period 1967-1969, as a result of several eruptions, stations in Chile and Great Britain were destroyed. Only the Argentines remained, joined by the Spaniards in 2000.

Mysterious Deception

This is a rare “subglacial volcano” that is located under a glacier up to 100 meters thick. Its lava moves slowly and a huge amount of dirt comes to the surface. Volcanologists today are not entirely sure of the origin of the volcano - whether it is a rift volcano (divergence of the crust), or whether it was formed by the subduction (immersion of one crust under another) of tectonic plates.

Mount Sidley

Mary Bird's land contains a chain volcanic mountains as part of the Executive Committee Range. The height of Mount Sidley is about 4.3 thousand meters, the foot is 2.5 thousand meters. One side of the mountain forms the caldera of a volcanic crater with a diameter of 5 kilometers. The thickness of the ice cover reaches 2 kilometers and if the ice melts, a second Japan will appear here in the form of an archipelago of islands of volcanic origin.

Volcanoes of Antarctica and the future of the planet

According to Nature Geoscience, volcanic activity affects the rate of ice melting. The heat flow from the volcanoes of Antarctica, passing through the earth's crust, causes instability of the continent's ice shell. Scientists have already modeled a map of the planet after the predicted melting of Antarctic ice. And most of it is missing North America and coastal regions of India. London and Venice, the Netherlands and Denmark will completely go under water. Russia is not among the countries that will suffer.

Antarctic fantasies

In 2017, press reports appeared about NASA activities in the crater of Mount Erebus to search for a portal to other worlds or traces of aliens. Now everyone knows which volcano is located in Antarctica.

The huge two-meter letter “M” on one of the islands has long been a mystery. But it turned out that in this way one Polish researcher immortalized the name of the lady of his heart, Magda. True, the material chosen is interesting - it is penguin excrement.

The two rock peaks at the entrance to the Lemera channel are named very peculiarly - “Oona's Boobs”. The British expedition actually included a girl, Una. It’s interesting, because some volcanoes are still nameless today.

There are many subglacial lakes with fresh water in Antarctica. According to some sources, there are about 140 of them. And the largest is the East. Its width is 50 kilometers and its length is 250.

But a bloody waterfall flows out of the Taylor Glacier. This phenomenon is explained by the activity of bacteria in the subglacial lake. They secrete ferrous iron, which turns the water an ominous color when exposed to air.

To the disappointment of many, there are no polar bears in Antarctica. The only predators here are marine ones - killer whales and ice sharks. This is why penguins on land are so brave.

There are 5 Russian polar stations in Antarctica. The largest - "Vostok" - is located in the geodetic area South Pole.

In the southern sector of the map of Antarctica, the Erebus stratovolcano is indicated - the second highest on Earth. The English discoverers named it after the Greek god - a symbol of darkness generated by Chaos.

The south pole of the planet has many extinct, dormant and active volcanoes. The thickness of the ice in the central part of the continent is so enormous that under its weight the land has bent almost 1 km. Only along the perimeter, as well as on the adjacent islands, were underground forces able to break through the ice sheet and splash out in the form of volcanoes, hot geysers, and fumaroles.

Volcano Erebus on the map is surrounded by three cooled brethren on the South Antarctic Ross Island in the sea of ​​the same name, near Victoria Land.

Description of the volcano: height, diameter and depth of the crater, age

Erebus is a stratovolcano characterized by layering from multiple explosive eruptions. For 1.3 million years, streams of magma have accumulated, solidifying one after another. To these are added tephra - emissions deposited from the air in the form of bombs and ash, which over time are cemented into a light porous tuff rock.

The study of the structure of the layers also revealed:

• basalt;
• phonolite and its variety kenite;
• trachyte.

Today, the height of the active volcano has reached a zone of rarefied air at a level of 3704 m. Higher is only the extinct Sidley, which has turned into a mountain, on the Antarctic Mary Byrd Land. With a crater depth of 274 m, the diameter of Erebus is slightly less than 1 km (805 m).

History of volcanic eruptions

The stratovolcano belongs to the West Antarctic Rift System - the McMurdo Group, named after the strait that opens into the Ross Sea. Erebus is fueled by a fiery liquid mass from the geosphere between the core and crust of the Earth, that is, from the upper mantle. According to scientists, igneous deposits at a depth of 200 km have a diameter of about 300 km.

A vertical channel goes down 400 km from the main massif. The magma level rises to the vent at 6 cm/year. At the narrowing bottom of the inner caldera (cauldron) of Erebus there is a permanent lake of red-hot lava. A constant influx supports a sluggish eruption with clouds of steam, ash, and periodic scattering of 10-meter bombs over one and a half kilometers.

When the pressure accumulated from below becomes critical, a short powerful explosion occurs.

Over the next 100 years, 8 explosive eruptions were recorded, the strongest in 1972, the last in 2011. Glowing fireworks of hot stones and crimson smoke reach the height of an 8-story building. Gases escaping through fractures in the earth's crust - hydrogen, methane - invade the ozone layer of the stratosphere and thin it.

As a result, a huge ozone hole is formed over the Ross Sea, over Antarctica, the contour of which follows the configuration of earthly faults. The outflow of lava from the lake, holes in the slopes, connects with geyser (water) fountains, steam and smoke columns from fumaroles. At the same time, the volcanic apocalypse does not completely deplete the magma reserves at the bottom.

If you look into the saluting cauldron, it is visible through the cracks of the cooling black crust. Volcano Erebus on the map of Antarctica is a seismically quiet area. The south pole is not characterized by tectonic movements at all, and volcanism is not accompanied by frequent earthquakes, as on other continents.

Climate and weather

Climatic conditions The Ross Islands are polar marine, no different from the Antarctic zone as a whole, since there is a constant circulation of continental air. The main signs are frosty winters, cold summers. Moreover, the change in temperature front is peculiar: the lowest values ​​are in August, the highest for these places are in January.

Key weather marks, °C:

The sky is mostly covered with clouds, the proximity of the sea creates humidity up to 80% in the form of fog. There are persistent strong winds from the east over Ross Island. The average annual precipitation is insignificant - only 100 mm. Here, as above the entire South Pole, solar radiation is the highest on the planet.

Natural attractions

On the map, Antarctica is represented as an inexpressive white spot; in reality, there are many unusual natural objects here. The slopes of the same volcano Erebus are studded high towers, from which smoke constantly pours out. It seems that someone is heating the stoves inside the mountain. These are fumaroles.

When the volcano calms down, the temperature of the escaping vapors and gases decreases, steam condensate settles around the crack or hole, gradually freezing to a height of 20 m or more.

Ice towers take on the most fantastic shape. New Zealand scientists describe the fumaroles this way: the largest one looks like the figure of an astronaut, followed in a procession by the likenesses of people and animals. One fumarole resembled a lion.

From volcanic vapors in the thickness of the ice, caves of extraordinary beauty are formed: with translucent blue arches, white stalactites, arches of various shapes, fancy “stucco” on the walls, huge ice curls. One of the most impressive is the Warren Cave, 12 m deep. The bottom of the cavity was exposed: somewhere soft, wet soil appeared, somewhere - hard rock.

Thick ice walls do not allow light to pass through, but their crystalline surface creates a unique effect: if you turn on the flashlights in pitch darkness, diamond sparks flash, shimmering with all the colors of the rainbow.

The crater of the volcano itself has its own phenomenon: despite lake of fire at the bottom, the edges of the cauldron are covered with ice. During an eruption, the ice evaporates, but as soon as activity dies down, the perimeter and slopes become snow-white again.

It’s impossible to imagine, but bacteria live in permafrost. They are found in Antarctic oases, such as the Taylor Valley in Victoria Land. In it, under a 400-meter layer of ice, there is a very non-freezing salt lake. Its water seeps along the horizon for several kilometers, flows into the lowland, forming a cascading ice “waterfall” of blood-red color.

The life activity of lake microorganisms gives the frightening coloring. Deprived of the opportunity to obtain energy through solar photosynthesis, they switched to chemical ones.

Scientists have identified 3 stages:

• The lake's sulfuric acid salts - sulfates - are transformed by bacteria into sulfites.
• Sulfites are oxidized by ferric ions from the bottom soil.
• After receiving the energy necessary for life, 2-valent iron remains in the water. Oxidized by oxygen when lake water reaches the surface, Fe 2 O 3 colors it red.

Researchers believe that the deep, darkened ecosystem has existed since ancient planet, and its microorganisms develop according to fundamentally different evolutionary mechanisms. Modern instruments can detect bacteria that survive in the sizzling temperatures of the volcano.

Since most microbes die in laboratory conditions, they have learned to describe them using DNA. Thus, it was confirmed that microorganisms live in the hot scree of Erebus. A new task has been set - based on samples from caves and the slopes of the volcano, to prove that frozen bacteria lived in hot lava.

When asked about the most arid places on the planet, most will name deserts. But the correct answer is Antarctic Dry Valleys. Almost 8000 km² of Victoria Land is ironed by winds of a unique speed for the planet - 320 km/h, so neither snow nor ice lingers in some oases.

Historical landmarks

On Cape Evans, Ross Island, the hut of the English polar explorer, Captain R. Scott, still stands. He led a transantarctic expedition of 5 people. and safely brought her to the South Pole by mid-January 1912.

The rejoicing of the discoverers was overshadowed by the sight of the tent with the Norwegian flag, which Amundsen's expedition left a year ago. On the way back, the exhausted, disappointed polar explorers were finished off by frost and physical exhaustion.

Not far from the hut in 1916, a cross was erected on a high base made of stones in memory of the lost expedition of R. Scott.

Interesting historical finds include the diary of D. Levik, a doctor, zoologist, and photographer from R. Scott’s group, discovered in the Antarctic snow in 2013. New Zealand experts in the field of Antarctic heritage restored the pages, soaked under the melted snow, and placed the information on digital media.

The diary was transported to Cape Evans to join the collection of 11 thousand artifacts associated with British polar explorers. The exhibition contains photographs taken by D. Levik on the way to the South Pole.

D. Ross arrived with his crew in Antarctica on 2 ships - Erebus and Terror. On the very first day, travelers witnessed a volcanic eruption. Shocked by the enchanting spectacle, D. Ross marked a fire-breathing mountain on the map under the name Erebus. In company with her is a cold, low shield volcano, 30 km away, called Terror.

Researchers discovered a unique mineral kenite in the lava of the stratovolcano - a glassy mass with lamellar or needle-shaped inclusions of potassium feldspars, aegirine, and olivine. There is a lot of the latter in the structure of some asteroids. Olivine also close relative precious yellow-green chrysolites. Kenite is found in the rocks of the ancient mountains of Kenya.

In a liquid state heated to 900°, only Erebus spews it. For geologists and volcanologists around the world, this fact is of significant interest.

Volcano Erebus on the map of Ross Island is adjacent to the Church of the Snows (1956). The polar religious building is under the supervision of Americans from the McMurdo polar station. Catholics, Protestants, Mormons, Buddhists, Baha'is and other religious movements that have the opportunity to fly to the South Pole hold services in the church.

The white spot of Antarctica on the world map stores a lot interesting secrets and attractions. One of them is the Erebus volcano.

Article format: Lozinsky Oleg

Video about Mount Erebus

What kind of volcano is this, what are its features:

When the sailing ships Erebus and Terror approached a continuous strip of ice, members of the expedition saw a high white cone far to the south, above which clouds of smoke rose. Captain James Ross was confident that he had found Antarctica, but it was still only a volcanic island.

The southernmost and most active volcano in Antarctica

Erebus is the second highest and most active volcano in Antarctica. Higher up is only the extinct Sidley (4285 m) on Mary Baird Land.

Erebus is not located on the continental part of Antarctica, but on the large (2460 km 2) Ross Island, and this is not the only volcano on it. The island is generally lucky with volcanoes: in addition to Erebus, it contains the extinct shield Terror (3230 m) about a million years old and a couple of lower volcanoes - Terra Nova (2130 m) and Bird (1765 m).

Mount Erebus is an intraplate volcano that belongs to the McMurdo Volcanic Group, part of the West Antarctic Rift System. Magma beneath Erebus rises from the upper mantle at a rate of about 6 cm/year.

The basis of the volcano is made up of volcanic rocks: basalt, trachyte, phonolite and tuff. On top they are covered with glaciers that go down to the ocean. The largest tongue is from 50 to 300 m thick. Approaching the shore, it sinks into the water and rests on its surface: in this place it is quite deep. In summer, the ice melts and broken parts of the glacier form icebergs. Waves also break through caves in the glacier, where the temperature is about 0°C and the humidity is 100%, which contributes to the formation of huge icicles similar to stalactites and large ice crystals.

The most famous of these ice cavities has its own name - Warren Cave, created by vapor from the volcano. Its bottom is wet, soft soil and rocks, and its walls are ice. Researchers say that in its depths there is pitch darkness, and when they turn on the flashlights, the black walls turn into a multi-colored kaleidoscope of flying sparks.

The crater of the volcano is a caldera with a diameter of about a kilometer, in which there are constantly active fumaroles and geysers. At its bottom there is a crater of a smaller diameter about a kilometer deep, and in it there is a lake of molten lava. Erebus is one of several volcanoes on Earth whose lake of molten kenite (a type of phonolite) has existed for quite a long time - several decades. Erebus is the only active volcano on Earth that erupts kenite magma with a temperature of +900°C; this rock in a solid state is also found in the mountains of Kenya (hence the name).

The underground source of magma that supplies it to the crater of the Erebus volcano was common to all other volcanoes of the island, which are now extinct. It is a magma lake with a diameter of up to 300 km, located at a depth of about 200 km. Below it takes the form of a vertical channel, descending to a depth of 400 km.

According to the nature of the eruption, Erebus is classified as a “Strombolian” type, named after the volcano in the Tirenian Sea. This means that a slow eruption lasts continuously, the volcano remains constantly ready for a stronger, but shorter eruption. The last one was observed in 2011.

During eruptions, clouds of steam are observed, accompanied by rare emissions of ash and volcanic bombs with a diameter of up to 10 m, which fall around Erebus within a radius of one and a half kilometers. At the moments of eruption, gushing geysers also manifest themselves. In this case, lava is ejected from a lake or one of several vents within the inner crater of the volcano, and the lava remains inside the caldera and does not spill out beyond its boundaries.

Erebus is located at the intersection of faults in the earth's crust, from which, according to volcanologists, powerful emissions of deep gases, including hydrogen and methane, periodically occur. Reaching the stratosphere, they destroy the ozone layer, which is why its minimum thickness is observed precisely above where the Erebus volcano is located.

These bright natural disasters look very picturesque against the backdrop of the ice shell of Antarctica. And they are not at all afraid of the colony of half a million Adélie penguins living on the ice of Ross Island.

A thorough study of the unique volcano is facilitated by its relative proximity to the main Antarctic scientific stations of the USA (McMurdo) and New Zealand (Scott Bays), which are located at a distance of about 35 km.

Volcano discovery

“A stunning volcano in an extremely active state,” is how the ship’s doctor for the James Ross expedition described it. Subsequently, it turned out that Erebus is capable of not only causing delight, but also inspiring horror.

This volcano first appeared to human eyes on January 27, 1841, when two sailing ships approached the shores of the island on which it is located (this was the last long-distance polar expedition to exclusively sailing ships) English expedition led by James Clark Ross (1800-1862). Ross commanded the ship "Erebus", officer Francis Crozier (1796-1848) commanded the ship "Terror". This was the famous British Antarctic expedition of 1839-1843.

Ross happened to arrive on the shores of the island on that rather rare day when Erebus erupted. Having seen two huge ice mountains, Ross did not think long about what names to give them, naming them in honor of his ships, battered by the Antarctic waves, but faithfully serving. And he put the names of the volcanoes Erebus and Terror on the map.

James Ross considered the island part of the mainland due to its continuous ice cover. Therefore, he depicted it on the map connecting to the continental area - Victoria Land. Only in 1901 did the English explorer Robert Scott (1868-1912) establish that this was an island. He named the sea off the coast of Antarctica and the island after the discoverer, James Ross.

The first ascent of Erebus was made by members of the British expedition of Ernest Shackleton (1874-1922), whose goal was to reach the geographic South Pole. Shackleton did not reach the Pole: the expedition turned out to be poorly prepared, and he was forced to turn around, only 180 km short of reaching the goal. But even before that, he decided to conquer the top of the volcano before the polar night began. Shackleton himself did not climb Erebus; six of his men, who had no experience in climbing mountains, went. Surprisingly, but true: in a few days they reached the top, spent four hours on it, and made some scientific measurements. They went down quickly: people simply slid down the icy slopes, as if from a children's slide. The adventure was a success: everyone survived, although they were barely alive from hunger and frostbite. Just how much of a miracle this all looked like is evidenced by the fact that the first solo ascent of Erebus was made only in 1985.

From a scientific point of view, Erebus volcano has a number of advantages for scientists: due to the fact that it is relatively low and has been continuously active since 1972, long-term seismological studies can be carried out close to the crater. Every year from November to January, scientists climb to the top for active field work.

There is life in the caldera of Erebus itself. The slopes of the volcano are covered with fumaroles, which in Antarctic conditions take the form of ice pipes about 20 m high, sticking out here and there across the entire surface of the crater. The internal heat of the mountain melts the snow and ice, forming a “chimney”, and the steam escaping from there freezes upon contact with the air. Here, on the smooth surface of solidified lava, covered with ice from frost, there is a relict biocenosis: moss and algae with microorganisms. “Chimneys” are specially protected areas; only scientists are allowed here.

On November 28, 1979, the silence of Ross Island was disturbed by something other than a volcanic explosion. New Zealand Airlines Flight 901 carried passengers exploring the beauty of Antarctica, including Erebus. These flights have been carried out for two years. This time, in foggy conditions, the DC-10 plane crashed into the slope of the volcano. The disaster killed 257 people. The unidentified remains of the victims are buried at Waikumete Memorial Cemetery in West Oakland ( New Zealand). When the short Antarctic summer arrives, aircraft wreckage appears from under the snow...

General information

Numbers

Climate and weather

Attractions

Natural

• Volcanoes Terror, Terra Nova and Bird
• Glaciers and ice caves
• Caldera
• Lava lake
• Fumaroles - “chimneys”
• Adelie penguin colony

Historical

• Robert Scott's Hut (Cape Evans, 1910-1913)
• Memorial Cross to the Deceased Members of the British Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition (Cape Evans, 1916)

Curious facts

Ross's ship was named after Erebus, the ancient Greek god, son of Chaos and personification of the Eternal Darkness. From Erebus himself came the gods of Death (Thanatos), Retribution (Nemesis), Strife (Eris), as well as Charon, the carrier of the souls of dead people to Hades across the River of Oblivion (Lethe). The name of the second ship "Terror" translated from Latin means fear or horror. By naming their ships this way, sailors defied the elements. In the case of these two ships, the elements prevailed. In 1845, while making an expedition in search of the Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to Pacific Ocean, both ships went missing, and with them the participant in the discovery of Erebus, Captain Crozier. The remains of the Erebus ship were found only in 2014, and the Terror in 2016.

Ross Island and, accordingly, the Erebus volcano located on it are part of the Ross territory, which is claimed by New Zealand. “Ross Dependent Territory” is a sector of the Antarctic, transferred by Great Britain to the administration of the Kingdom of New Zealand in 1923. The Queen of New Zealand is Elizabeth II, but the “kingdom” itself has a purely symbolic status, designed to emphasize the historical and spiritual closeness of the metropolis and former colony. In 1961, the Antarctic Treaty signed by New Zealand came into force, according to which the country formally renounced its claims to this sector. Among the countries that have reserved the right to make such claims are Peru, Russia, the USA and South Africa.

The ships of the James Ross expedition belonged to the class of so-called “bombers”: during their construction, the main attention was paid to strength, so that the recoil from firing from heavy mortar bombers would not loosen the ship’s fastenings. This design of the ship helped withstand the extreme pressure of pack ice, but the side was still reinforced with an additional layer of “ice” plating.

On the same island of Ross where Erebus is located, the Church of the Snows was built in 1956: a non-denominational Christian church. Her condition is being monitored by the staff of the American Antarctic station McMurdo. And today it remains the southernmost religious building in the world. Catholic masses are celebrated by a visiting prelate from New Zealand, Protestant services are led by a chaplain from the US Air National Guard. In the same building, rituals of Mormons, Buddhists, Bahais, etc. are held.

Erebus is a great name for a volcano. IN Greek mythology Erebus was the son of the god Chaos, and his mother was Gaia, or Earth. He was created from darkness and shadow and filled every corner of the world with his darkness. Volcano Erebus is the most southern volcano on Earth and the most active in Antarctica. It contains a lake of red-hot lava with a temperature of 900 degrees Celsius - this is a circulating pool of magma over a kilometer deep, one of five similar ones existing on the planet

While temperatures inside the volcano are extremely hot, the outside can instantly freeze in arctic temperatures. The slopes of a snow-capped volcano are dotted with ice caves, through which volcanic gases, hydrogen and methane, often escape, destroying the Earth's ozone layer. It is above this most active volcano in the world that the thinnest layer of ozone is observed.


Mount Erebus was first discovered by polar explorer Sir James Ross in 1841. Later, in 1907, explorer Ernest Shackleton made the first ascent of Erebus with a specially organized expedition. The areas surrounding the volcano were named Ross Island, in honor of the discoverer


One of the most important features of this volcano is that it is always active. This is why the Mount Erebus Volcano Observatory (MEVO) is located here, as it is an ideal site for volcanologists. Instead of lying dormant and then erupting spectacularly once every 100 years, like many other volcanoes, Erebus is always on and bubbling.



This place is also infamous for a tragic plane crash. During an excursion flight, a New Zealand plane fell into thick clouds and crashed into the slope of a volcano. 237 passengers and 20 crew members were killed. The famous explorer and traveler Edmund Hillary was also supposed to take part in the flight, but canceled his trip at the last moment. Traces of this disaster are still visible on the slope of Erebus, and the unidentified remains of the victims are buried at Waikumete Memorial Cemetery in West Auckland, New Zealand, where a commemorative wreath is laid annually

Under Antarctic ice active volcano found