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G081: Mount Erebus Volcano Observatory III (MEVO III): Conduit processes and surveillance.

Start date:
Late November
End date:
early January
Locations:
Mt Erebus, Mt Emily
Principle Investigator:
Philip Kyle
Organisation:
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
State
New Mexico
Field season overview:
Team members will be transported by helicopter to an acclimitization camp at Fang Glacier. A few days later they will travel by snowmobile or helicopter to occupy their base of operations at the Lower Erebus Hut. During the austral summer months, field-based observations will include measuring emission rates of various gas species including CO2, SO2, radionuclides, trace gases and metals. These data will be used to evaluate the potential impact of gas emission from Erebus on the snow chemistry on the Antarctic Ice Sheets. Researchers will re-occupy a GPS network on the flanks and summit to examine any deformation that may have occurred. They will also use ground-based light detection and ranging (LIDAR) observations to map the interior of the crater, and to look at the dynamics of the lava lake.
Mount Erebus on Ross Island is the most active volcano in Antarctica. Its persistent convecting lava lake of anorthoclase phonolite magma is unique among volcanos. The lake and underlying magmatic system emit volcanic gases into the pristine Antarctic atmosphere. Because of the access researchers have to the mountain and the nature of its small strombolian eruptions, Mount Erebus has become a model volcano for study. This project is a continuation of research conducted over the past nine field seasons, during which the team installed six integrated geophysical/geodetic surveillance observatories, monitored other seismometers, made measurements of gas emissions, and took GPS measurements to observe deformation of the volcano. Researchers will start a new project to examine the origin and nature of the ice cave systems on Erebus as an analog for possible cave systems on Mars. To that end, they will collect volcanic ejecta erupted from the lava lake and sample lavas from Ross Island for geochronological and petrologic studies. The seismic networks allow an understanding of the eruptive behavior and dynamics of Mount Erebus, and inversion of the seismic data will allow topographic imaging of the magma chamber and plumbing inside the volcano.