Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 12/22/2009 - 18:01
Forums
Dissolved Organic Matter in Antarctica

Hi, I was wondering if there are any volcanoes that are potentially dangerous in your surroundings. Thank you.

Sat, 12/26/2009 - 10:41

Sarah Diers

Great question!I am actually living on a volcanic island connected to the continent of Antarctica by a permanent ice shelf. Ross Island accommodates two research stations, the U.S.'s McMurdo Base and the New Zealand Scott Base. Ross Island was created through the growth of four volcanoes over the course of hundreds of thousands of years. Of the four volcanoes, Mt. Terror, Mt. Erebus, Mount Bird, and Abbot Peak, only Mt. Erebus is still active. However, the communities of McMurdo and Scott Base do not fear for their lives living so close to an active volcano- the activity of Mt. Erebus is not so extreme that we worry about it erupting and lava covering the whole of Ross Island. We see beautiful smoke plumes puffing out of the crater quite often, but no streams of lava flowing down the sides. Mt. Erebus is studied by teams of scientists every year- they actually set up camp near the crater's edge to study the active lava lakes and other wonders of the volcano.Keep cool! Sarah