The frozen continent of Antarctica is, paradoxically, a hotbed of volcanic activity.
The ice-covered area is home to approximately 138 volcanoes nestled beneath the snow, 91 of which were discovered as recently as 2017.
Although most of them are considered dormant or possibly extinct, three have erupted in recent history according to the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program: Penguin Island in 1905; Deception Island in 1970 and Mount Erebus in 1972.
The last of these is perhaps Antarctica’s most famous – taking the titles of highest active volcano on the continent – with its summit at 3,794 meters – and the southernmost active volcano on Earth.
Satellite images of this behemoth reveal a hot lava lake that has been bubbling in the summit crater for 32 years.
The eruption has been erupting continuously since “at least 1972,” said Conor Bacon, a postdoctoral researcher in volcanic ismology at the University of Cambridge. Living Science.
Since then, it has been known to “eject plumes of gas and steam” and occasionally eject rock bombs, which are collectively known as “strombolian eruptions,” according to NASA’s Earth Observatory.
Mount Erebus has been erupting continuously since 1972 (Josh Landis/National Science Foundation)
But most extraordinary of all is that these eruptions of volcanic gas are worth their weight in gold – almost literally.
This is because they are full of tiny gold particles – no larger than 20 micrometres. IFL Sciencereports.
While this amount may seem miniscule, scientists estimate that over the course of one day the volcano produces approximately 80 grams of the precious metal, which is worth more than £4,800 ($6,000).
And as you would expect from dust on the wind, the gold doesn’t just stay on Mount Erebus.
Instead, traces of it were discovered 1,000 kilometers away from the volcano after it traveled through the air.
Still, Antarctica’s volcanoes aren’t all known for their glittering eruptions, and the questions many experts are still trying to answer are: Could they erupt one day? And what would happen if they did?
Researchers acknowledge that it is difficult to predict whether any of the 138 on the continent are a ticking time bomb.
This is largely due to the logistical and climatic challenges posed by the region’s unforgiving habitat.
For starters, the volcanoes are much more difficult to access than those in other parts of the world, and furthermore, any monitoring instruments must be “robust enough to survive the harsh conditions and long polar nights,” Bacon emphasized in his interview with Living Science.
So what would happen if one or more of these volcanoes erupted?
We can find clues by looking back in time almost 20,000 years.
A landsat image of Mount Takahe that erupted about 18,000 years ago, leaving a void in the ozone layer(Landsat Image Mosaic of Antarctica (LIMA). USGS and NASA, LIMA)
One of the continent’s volcanoes, Mount Takahe, is located near the remote center of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.
In a 2017 study published in the journal PNASscientists suggested that Takahe was responsible for a series of eruptions rich in ozone-depleting halogens that occurred about 18,000 years ago.
They claimed that these eruptions created an ancient hole in the ozone layer and warmed the Southern Hemisphere.
This caused glaciers to melt and helped end the last ice age, John Smellie, Professor of Volcanology at the University of Leicester, explained in a piece for Newsweek.
Still, Professor Smellie conceded that for these types of environmental impacts to occur again, it would require a series of eruptions, also enriched in halogens, “from one or more volcanoes currently above the ice.”
“Such a scenario is unlikely, although as Takahe’s research shows, it is not impossible,” he wrote.
“It is more likely that one or more of the many subglacial volcanoes, some of which are known to be active, will erupt at some unknown time in the future.”
And unfortunately, it’s pretty safe to assume they won’t explode with a friendly shower of gold dust.
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