Tidbits: Taiwanese volcanoes, Terraces for sale, Erebus ice and more
Some news for today:
Taiwan: Most people don’t realize that the island of Taiwan has potentially active volcanoes. One such volcanic center is the Datun (as known as Tatun) Group, a series of domes that are believed to have last erupted in ~4,100 BC and the current manifestation of the magmatism are hot springs and solfatara. The National Science Council of Taiwan will be setting up volcano monitoring system for the Tatun Group – seismometers and tiltmeters it appears – and the data sounds like it might be readily available online when the installation is complete.
New Zealand: Well, after all the excitement over the (re)discovery of the Pink Terraces in Lake Rotomahana – thought lost after the 1886 eruption of Tarawera – it seems that humans can’t stand not making money. A fellow in New Zealand is selling what he claims is a vial of pre-destruction terrace and the bidding for the vial is already up to, if you can believe it, ~$1.1 million (NZ – approximately $847,000 US). Now, there is a lot of question of the authenticity of the sample but in New Zealand, it is legal to sell such relics, so as always, buyer beware!
Yellowstone: The caldera in Wyoming is still making the news, even if they are still talking to quacks about it.
France: Happy Birthday to Jules Verne, even though traveling to the center of the Earth via Snæfellsjökull (and exiting via Stromboli) might not be the best idea.
Antarctica: In a little bit of eye candy, there is a set of images taken from the ice caves on Mt. Erebus in Antarctica, the most southerly active volcano (that we know of) on the planet. Some pretty stunning ice, including layer of ash from Erebus locked into the deep freeze. Ice caves are common on active volcanoes (with ice on them) thanks to the abundant heat and you can find them in places less remote than Antarctica, such as Washington’s Mt. Rainier.
Top left: Ice crystals from the ice caves on Mt. Erebus. Image from a collection by Ph.D. candidate Kayla Iacovino.
