Lava. Ash. Terrible death. These are all known and expected results of an active volcano.
But a volcano located in the most remote and icy reaches of our planet marches to the beat of a slightly different drum.
On Ross Island in the Ross Sea, a deep bay in Antarctica, Mount Erebus emits vapors about 1,350 kilometers from the geographic South Pole. This active volcano, the southernmost in the world, bubbles with a permanent lake of incandescent lava, reports Science Alert.
And in the gas that constantly emanated from this door to the underworld, scientists found microscopic particles of crystalline elemental gold.
According to a 1991 research article published in Geophysical Research Letterthe Erebus volcano expels some 80 grams of microscopic gold dust per daydispersing it up to 1,000 kilometers away, or even more.
To date, it is the only volcano in the world known to expel crystalline particles of elemental gold, it indicates. Science Alert.
The real mystery, however, is how the gold escapes from the magma in the first place. In reality, the presence of gold in volcanic emissions is not that unusual.
Traces of gold have been detected through chemical analysis in samples from Kīlauea (Hawaii), Etna (Italy), Augustine (Alaska) and El Chichón (Mexico).
Later theoretical work has suggested that gold can be transported in hot volcanic fluids, and probably also in gases, he says. Science Alert.
It makes sense. A volcano is basically a hole in the Earth’s crust, through which molten material from deep within the earth gushes up.
Many elements, such as copper, silver, mercury, arsenic, selenium and sulfur, as well as goldthey are mixed in a glorious melting pot, literally, where they can join with other elements to form compounds.
From there, the gold does not evaporate like water from a teapot; The boiling point of pure gold is much higher than volcanic temperatures. Instead, it is believed to be carried in volatile compounds containing chlorine or sulfur, present in hot volcanic gases, reports Science Alert.
something never seen
But according to a team led by geochemist Kimberly Meeker of the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in the United States, the gold from the Erebus volcano is doing something that has not been seen in any other volcano.
As part of their investigation into emissions from Mount Erebus, the researchers collected samples of the snow surrounding the volcanic crater, the gas column from the lava lake and the Antarctic troposphere up to 1,000 kilometers from the volcano.
In all three sets of samples, they found pure gold particles on a micrometer scale, indicates Science Alert.
The estimated daily production of 80 grams was, in reality, somewhat less than that recorded at other volcanoes. According to measurements available at the time, Kīlauea emitted between 500 and 800 grams of gold per day, while estimates for Etna reached up to 2.4 kilograms.
But there is something unique about the Erebus volcano that allows gold to separate from the compounds that held it together in volcanic emissions.
A model proposed by the researchers posits that gold is transported out of the lava in volatile compounds containing chlorine. As the gases cool, gold crystallizes from these compounds before eventually settling on the Antarctic ice, he says. Science Alert.
One difficulty with that model is that the gas contains very little gold; Under such conditions, spontaneous nucleation of beautifully formed crystals in air is very difficult.
Another scenario later proposed by volcanologist Philip Kyle of the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, a member of the research team, is that the gold forms more gradually in a crust on the surface of the lava lake before being carried into the air by rising gases.
More than 30 years have passed since the discovery and yet there is still no concrete answer, reports Science Alert.
There is something about Mount Erebus, whether its chemical composition, ambient temperature, geology, or something else, that seems to give it a unique ability to sprinkle gold dust on the snow like a naughty elf.
GML
