Achi news desk-
Experts discovered about 80 grams of gold crystallized in gas pockets emitted from Mount Arbus, one of the 138 active volcanoes of Antarctica. New York Post Report citing a report from IFL Science.
In addition, the volcano, which joins Deception Island, is one of two active volcanoes in the area and emits $6,000 worth of gold dust every day.
However, it may be difficult to collect or explore further as the mountain is not easily accessible.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) observatory reports that precious metal dust has been detected up to 621 kilometers from the southernmost 12,448-foot Erebus lava spire as part of other emission phenomena.
“It regularly emits plumes of gas and steam, and occasionally spits rock (bombs),” according to NASA.
According to Connor Bacon of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University in New York, Arbus 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.
“These are actually quite rare, as they require 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 potential events that could activate the hundred plus remaining frozen volcanoes.
This lack of consistent research is often the result of geographic isolation.
Bacon says Arbus and Deception Island have a limited number of “permanent monitoring devices” that “consist primarily of seismometers to detect seismic activity associated with volcanic activity.”
“From time to time, researchers will deploy more extensive networks of instruments to perform specific studies, but this naturally comes with a huge number of logistical challenges compared to many, much more accessible volcanoes elsewhere in the world.”
