The bubbles’ size and content offer valuable clues to their origin - and the volcano’s stability. Effectively Erebus’ blood gases, these volatile chemicals rocket up from below Earth’s crust. To understand it all, Kyle and his colleagues focus on water vapor and other gases that bubble up through the magma. Its conditions affect whether Erebus just exhales streams of carbon-rich gas or snorts out the occasional car-sized lava bomb. With an ever evolving battery of physical and chemical tests, these Erebus observers have been probing the volcano’s dynamic plumbing system beneath the magma chamber. Few, however, have scaled the nearly 3,800-meter summit to peer into its churning pool of molten rock - a lake of lava roiling at roughly 1,000° Celsius.Īlong with shifting teams of other researchers, Kyle collects the volcano’s vital signs in an ongoing effort to gain clues to its inner workings - clues that might help scientists understand volcanoes elsewhere on the planet. Some 1,300 summer residents at the National Science Foundation’s McMurdo research station 35 kilometers away can revel in the picture-postcard backdrop that Erebus offers. This ice-covered cone belongs to a small chain of otherwise dormant peaks that make up Ross Island. As it rises through the crust it can change composition before finally reaching the upper volcano system (inset) and migrating to the magma chamber and lava lake, located 2 to 4 kilometers above sea level. THE RISE OF MAGMA | Molten rock begins its upward journey deep inside the mantle. ![]() Oppenheimerįeldspar crystals mined from lava bombs contain clues to the composition of the volcano’s magma. Scientists point a variety of instruments at the lava lake to measure its appearance, gas emissions and sounds. Zandomeneghi et al/Journal of Geophysical Research A topographical map shows 12 detonation sites and the locations of seismometers that record the shock waves generated by the explosions, which give clues to the density of materials within the volcano and aid in mapping its inner workings. SEISMIC EVIDENCE Scientists drill in order to plant an explosive charge. Most lava bombs contain crystallized feldspar. Nelia Dunbar pokes a lava bomb freshly catapulted from the lake. From the rim, scientists can watch - and listen to - lava that has risen from the magma chamber. Feliciano Ridvan EFE/ShutterStockĮrebus’ lava lake is open to the sky and easy to observe. From the rim they observe the lava lake below, measure its emissions and probe Erebus’ plumbing system. Researchers travel from McMurdo Station to a research base near the top of the volcano. MOUNTAINTOP LAB | Mount Erebus, Earth’s southernmost active volcano and one of four moutains that form Ross Island, rises from Antarctica’s Ross Sea. Wind-blown clouds of steam rise year-round from a lava lake atop Mount Erebus, the planet’s southernmost active volcano.Įrebus’ lava lake churns beneath a cloud of gas and water vapor, yielding clues to the volcano’s inner workings. POWERCHORD, an extremely stupid game about being bone-ripping leather barbarians kicking and biting their way through a wasteland inspired by the British heavy metal New Wave of the 70s and 80s.įor those following this project and who have given their support and encouragement, I have nothing but the deepest, most heartfelt gratitude.MCMURDO STATION, ANTARCTICA - Even when the December sun beats down 24 hours a day, most of Antarctica remains cold, if not brutally frigid.Cascade Arcana, a post-apocalyptic fantasy game about building and protecting a community using metaphysical Circuits.Voltigeur, a hard sci-fi 'strand' game about re-establishing contact with human colonies lost in the wake of civilisational collapse.TALONAUT, a strategic combat game featuring occult mecha battling giant symbolic monsters,.For now, though, it's time to finally move on to other projects. I do plan to continue iterating on this game - in an ideal world, eventually I'll be able to fund a professionally edited and illustrated 'premium' edition. I am absolutely delighted (and, frankly, surprised by the level of hyperfocus I've achieved in the last month) to announce that EREBUS has finally reached full release! This final version notably contains a robust GM toolkit, some additional NPCs, and a brand-new layout and cover, as well as a few minor tweaks and changes.Īs this is a paid product, I have also released a free Quickstart version of the game that contains the basic rules for Missions and combat, the sample Missions, and a half-dozen pregenerated characters with which to explore them.
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