Antarctic Fungi Blog: Mt Erebus

Mt. Erebus, aptly named after the greek god of darkness, is an active volcano located in the antarctic. Only the bravest (or foolhardy) of explorers venture near it's lava filled crater, and even then, only with the most advanced safety equipment available.

Ya'know a helmet might be a good idea.

Just kidding.

While Erebus is in fact the greek god of darkness, Mt. Erebus is not actually named after him. Mt. Erebus is named after one of the ships Captain James Clark Ross took with him on his 1840 Antarctic Expedition (The other ship Ross brought was named Terror. To be honest, he sounds like a scary man.).

Mt. Erebus is also another location that we get our fungus samples from, and, as it turns out, can also be found on google maps.

Our samples from Mt. Erebus come from inside large ice structures called fumaroles.

These structures are formed when hot gas escapes from the volcano. The hot gas cools quickly when it makes contact with the cold outside air and the water vapor inside of it freezes, leaving behind ice. Over time this ice builds up forming these large moist hollow caves that are a perfect growing environment for fungi.

We dig holes into these fumaroles...

go inside the caves they have created...

Everyone say "Hi" to Hubert!

and leave traps for the fungus.

The fungus will never suspect a thing!

Mt. Erebus is also the only location in the world where large Erebus Crystals can be found.

Erebus crystals are formed inside of the lava lake in Mt. Erebus's crater.

We were serious about the lava lake.

The crystals cool inside of the lava lake and sink to the bottom. When an explosion occurs, "Bombs" of crystals and lava are thrown out of the crater. The lava hardens but is quickly eroded away, leaving behind the crystals.