We have made it to the top of Mt. Erebus! It is one of the most breathtaking sites I've ever seen! As you come up over the edge the crater opens up in front of you and you feel that you can look down in to the center of the earth! The fumes rise from the inner crater hiding the molten lava lake for most of the year.
Mt. Erebus has been studied for the past 36 years by PhD Phil Kyle from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. The stratovolcano stands over 12,400 ft. and contains a continuous lava lake that consists of anothoclase phonolite magma. The magma in the lava lake moves by convection currents with temperatures reaching 1000 degrees C. The lake degasses so violently at times that it will erupt bits of molten material known as volcanic bombs. Mt. Erebus is also famous for the "crystals" that are found on the mountain. These crystals are observed on only three volcanoes in the whole world.
The current experiment will attempt to "CT - scan" the inside of the volcano to determine the structure of the inside. By producing active seismic waves, through the use of explosives, and detecting these waves using over 100 seismometers, we can put together what the pipe looks like and where the magma chamber is located.
The bulk of the work at this time is installing the seismometers on the volcano. Each station needs to be in a specific location that makes installation tricky at times. While we are using the ski-doos to travel over the ice and snow there are many cool things to see.
The views are fantastic! At different locations on the volcano you can also find ice towers that have been formed from the freezing of the steam that escapes from the many fumaroles on the mountainside.
During my first trip to the crater I had the pleasure of carrying with me the Fountain Valley School District flag that was designed by our own Michelle Bui. Also in attendance for the first showing of the flag was our Talbert Middle School mascot Tommy T-Bird, looking very warm in his sweater and scarf given to him by the students.
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