The Antarctic volcano is a veritable gold mine. It literally blows gold up in smoke

Erebus is a big one StratovolcanoIt is the largest of the volcanoes that make up Ross Island off the coast of Victoria Land. Scientists have discovered that gold particles are emitted from its interior along with volcanic gases, and not in small quantities.

Erebus is the most active volcano in Antarctica. The last eruption occurred in 2022. After examining it, scientists discovered gold particles in the volcanic gases emitted. While the news must be admittedly unusual, it was first discovered by American geologists in 1991. In addition to the valuable element being found in gases, they also discovered it in snow. Scientists' reviews show this The daily gold emission is about 80 grams. These values ​​are consistent with those established in the early 1990s. According to Philip Kyle of the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in Soroco, gold deposits may come from volcanic rocks. According to Geo News, gold dust has value Worth 6 thousand dollars.

When the magma seeps to the surface of the mountain, whose peak rises to 3,794 meters above sea level, it splits into lava and volcanic gases that lift some gold particles into the atmosphere. Unfortunately, they will be difficult to see with the naked eye. Their size ranges from 0.1 to 20 micrometers. Slightly larger objects have been found in a snow cone – they are as big as this one 60 µm. For comparison, a human hair is about 90 micrometers thick. Gold extracted from the volcano can be found not only on the cone itself. NASA's Earth Observatory reported that the precious dust was detected at a distance of up to 1,000 kilometers. Kilometers of crater.

The volcanic activity of Erebus has been known since its discovery in 1841, and has been observed continuously since 1972. The crater is 110 meters deep and 250 meters in diameter. At its bottom is a lava lake, one of four on Earth, as Conor Bacon of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University in New York reminds us.

– These are actually very rare cases, because very specific conditions must be met so that the surface never freezes – explains the American scientist.

Conducting large-scale research in Antarctica and the entire Arctic region is extremely difficult, especially because of the logistical challenges that must be overcome. The best example is even Construction of a new Polish station in Antarctica named after Henryk Arktowski. Scientists plan to gradually expand the network of measuring instruments.