Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 12/29/2008 - 15:42
Forums
Erebus Volcano Antarctica

Dear Mr. Wood,

HI!!!  Sorry i haven't been posting that much, but now I'm back with some questions:

Those ice tower and cave pictures are so AMAZING!!  Where do you venture in Antarctica to find those kind of natural masterpieces?  Are they near Erebus?  How much do the temps. in the caves differ from the outside?

How many lava bombs do you come by at Erebus?  How big is the biggest one you've ever seen in person?  How small?

When you stand near the lava lake of the mountain do you feel a lot of heat coming out of it?  How thick is the ice or rock sorrounding the lava lake?

When will you finally be done with all those seismomemters?  Sorry, just getting a little impatient.

MERRY NEW YEAR!!!

Per. 2

Michelle Bui

Tue, 12/30/2008 - 14:57

John Wood

Hello Michelle,
 I'm glad you like the caves and the towers!  They are amazing!  I wish that you all could just stand in a cave for 10 minutes to feel and see it.  The caves are found in different spots around the mountain.  We just found one last night that is huge!  I have some video of it to share.  Some of the caves are very warm inside because of the warm air coming from the ground.  There are  bombs in many places around the rim.  The largest one I've seen so far is about 6 feet across.  I have found some small pieces about the size of your hand, but not in one piece.  The lava lake is about 600 feet down in the crater so you don't really feel any heat from it.  I have many pictures of the lake to share also.
Thanks for the questions!  Have a great New Year and I will see you soon!
Cheers,
Mr. Wood