An active volcano in the cold zone of Antarctica emits gold into the atmosphere every day. Experts estimate the “gold emissions” at 6 thousand dollars.
The New York Post writes that Mount Erebus, which, along with Deception Island, is the only active volcano among Antarctica’s 138 volcanoes, is known to emit gases containing about 80 grams of crystallized gold into the atmosphere every day.
The presence of the expensive dust was recorded 621 miles away from the southernmost lava eruption on the planet, whose summit is at 12,448 meters.
The precious metal is just one of many things erupting from Erebus, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Ground Observatory.
“It regularly spews gas and vapor, and sometimes even rocks,” NASA said in a statement.
The gaseous and solid contents are erupted as a result of Strombolian eruptions – eruptions of moderate intensity.
“Erebus … has erupted continuously since at least 1972,” Conor Bacon of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory near Columbia University in New York told Live Science.
He added that Erebus is also known for having a “lava lake” in one of its summit craters, formed by molten material from its surface.
“This is actually quite rare, because very specific conditions are needed for the surface to never freeze,” the researcher said.
