One day in late spring of 2023, the summit crater of Mount Erebus, the world’s southernmost active volcano, majestically appeared above the clouds. This stunning stratovolcano landscape was captured on November 25 by Landsat9's Operational Land Imager 2 (OLI-2). Mount Erebus is part of the Ross Island volcano off the coast of West Antarctica.
Satellite view of the summit crater of Mount Erebus on November 25, 2023, taken by the Operational Land Imager 2 on Landsat 9.
Rising 3,794 meters (12,450 feet) above sea level, this towering structure occupies a dominant position just 35 kilometers (22 miles) from McMurdo Station. Volcanic activity in the region is attributed to rift zones, whose extension causes the crust to thin, facilitating the rise of magma to the surface through faults in the crust.
In the detailed view (above), the Landsat image includes shortwave infrared signals (red) produced by heat from the lava lake in the summit crater. The lake has been active since at least 1972 and is one of the only long-lived lava lakes on Earth. It is constantly churning, occasionally spewing lava during Stromboli eruptions. Geologists want to understand why active lava lakes have persisted here for so long. Recent research suggests that one reason may be that magma has low water content, which makes it less volatile as it approaches the surface.
Mount Erebus was active long before the lava lake appeared, including when it was first discovered by British Royal Navy officer James Clark Ross during his Antarctic expedition in 1841. Mount Erebus and the neighboring Mount Terror were named after many expeditions and warships on many other polar voyages.