Mount Erebus Volcano in Antarctica Emits Microscopic Gold Crystals

Mount Erebus, the world’s southernmost active volcano on Ross Island, Antarctica, releases about 80 grams of elemental gold each day. Researchers led by geochemist Kimberly Meeker of the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology sampled snow around the crater, gas from the persistent lava lake, and atmospheric air up to 1,000 km away. Electron‑microscope analysis showed the gold as faceted crystals up to 60 µm in size, a form not seen in emissions from other volcanoes such as Kīlauea or Etna, which emit gold only in trace, chemically bound forms. The gold is thought to hitch a ride on volatile chlorine‑ or sulfur‑bearing gases and crystallise as the plume cools in the frigid Antarctic air, depositing gold dust on surrounding ice. Erebus remains the only known volcano that spews crystalline elemental gold into the atmosphere.