There are 138 volcanoes in Antarctica, nine of which are active. Mount Erebus, with its 3794 height – hidden between the glaciers – is the most famous of the bunch, and now it turns out to be worth its weight in gold. Erebus spits out gold crystals, which land hundreds of kilometers away. Scientists estimate that about $6,000 is spewed out per day.
The southernmost active volcano on Earth, together with two other volcanoes, forms Ross Island. This spot at the South Pole was discovered in 1841 by Captain James Clark Ross, who was exploring and conducting magnetic surveys. The new discovery stuns modern scientists at the Mount Erebus Volcano Observatory, who regularly conduct field surveys to look for extreme life forms.
Volcanic bombs
Mount Erebus continuously spews gas and steam and also regularly ejects boulders of partially molten rock into the wider world – these are known as ‘volcanic bombs’. These gas bursts contain small crystals of gold, much to the surprise of the scientists. They estimate that the volcano spews out about 80 grams of gold per day. This amounts to a value of about 6,000 dollars, the equivalent of about 5,700 euros.
Traces of gold in the atmosphere
Traces of gold have been found hundreds of kilometers from the crater. The Antarctic scientists have also discovered gold dust in the air up to a thousand kilometers away from the volcano, the AD writes.
Tags: Gold traces discovered hundreds kilometers
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