Antarctica's volcano spews out $6,000 worth of gold dust a day, but where does it go?

2024-04-18 16:02:04 / MISTERE&KURIOZITETE ALFA PRESS

Antarctica's volcano spews out $6,000 worth of gold dust a day, but where
Experts have discovered approximately 80 grams of crystallized gold in pockets of gas emitting from Mount Erebus, one of Antarctica's 138 active volcanoes, the New York Post reported, citing a report from IFL Science.

Additionally, the volcano, which joins Deception Island, is one of two active volcanoes in the region and spews out $6,000 worth of gold dust every day.

However, it may be difficult to collect or investigate further as the mountain is not easily accessible.

NASA reports that precious metal dust has been detected up to 621 miles from Erebus' southernmost lava eruption, which is 12,448 meters high, as part of other outpouring phenomena.

"It regularly emits plumes of gas and steam, and occasionally ejects rocks (bombs)," according to NASA.

According to Conor Bacon of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University in New York, Erebus has been erupting continuously since 1972. He added that the mountain is also known to contain a "lava lake" in one of its summit craters. his.

"These are actually quite rare, as it requires some very specific conditions to be met to ensure that the surface never freezes."

However, there is still a lack of knowledge about the volcanic format in Antarctica and the possible events that could activate the remaining icy volcanoes. This lack of sustained research is often the result of geographic isolation.

Bacon says Erebus and Deception Island have a limited number of "permanent monitoring instruments" that mostly consist of seismometers to detect seismic activity associated with volcanic disturbances.