NASA
Cavities inside a volcano on the outskirts of Antarctica hold molten magmaNASAIn 2001, satellite images indicated something strange: signs of a bubbling lake of molten rock at the bottom of a volcano on an island near Antarctica, inhabited only by penguins, elephant seals, and albatrosses. In 2019, new satellite analyses indicated a change in temperature at the bottom of the crater, from 284 degrees Celsius (°C) to 419 °C—it was the first and most consistent indication of a lava lake, only the eighth ever identified. In 2020, to confirm the finding, volcanologist Emma Nicholson of University College London, UK, visited the 843-meter active volcano, known as Mount Michael, on Saunders Island in the South Sandwich Islands. The expedition was cut short, however, due to bad weather. She returned with her team in November 2022 and confirmed the existence of the lava lake, estimated to cover an area of around 10,000 square meters. A documentary about the most recent trip was aired on cable TV in October. The discovery will help scientists better understand how magma circulates inside volcanoes (Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, July 2019; LiveScience, October 24).
Republish