![]() ![]() In addition, while the surface temperature at Mt. Ice Fumaroles near the slopes of Mount Erebus (While the Antarctic fumaroles may be on a dry and cold continent, the air inside these structures may have 80 to 100% humidity. In fact, the ecosystems that exist in these fumaroles may be some of the most alien on Earth. Erebus form ice towers that produce very little methane or hydrogen sulfide. In contrast, the fumaroles found around Mt. They release steam and gases that can include several sulfur-based gases. These structures are openings in the Earth’s crust, typically associated with volcanoes. In addition to observing the scoria lava structures, the expedition may have also noted fumaroles on the slopes of Mt. Erebus and how Pabodie’s drill was successful at boring through solid rock as well as melting ice layers. Dyer briefly mentions how the expedition conducted several mineral borings on the slopes of Mt. Erebus.Ī large portion of the initial drilling and geologic activity of the Dyer – Pabodie Expedition occurred at Mt. Again, this is another reference to the active state of Mt. Klinger in their annotated analyses of Lovecraft’s text indicate that this word describes the dense chunks or jagged blocks of lava that are filled with holes due to gases forming bubbles. ![]() Finally, Lovecraft describes the peak of Mt. Erebus’s snowy slopes, Lovecraft is recognizing that this mountain is indeed an active volcano. Thus, in At the Mountains of Madness, when one of the graduate assistants Danforth notes the intermittent puffs of smoke and the lava flows along Mt. ![]() Erebus has been an active volcano for at least 1.3 million years and is described as being a polygenetic (erupts repeatedly) stratovolcano (a conical volcano built by many layers of hardened lava, tephra, pumice and volcanic ash). Erebus is the second highest volcano in Antarctica, being 12,448 feet high Lovecraft estimated its height to be 12,700 ft high. When the Dyer – Pabodie Expedition reached Antarctica one of the first large-scale geologic formations they encountered were the Admiralty Range, which is a large group of high mountains located in Victoria Land. The thermal conductivity (the rate at which heat passes through a specific material, typically described as the amount of heat that flows per unit time) of copper is higher than zinc, brass, aluminum and steel so it melts ice the fastest among these metals. I could find no reference of the use of copper electrodes in ice drill systems as a means of melting ice however, more than likely Lovecraft gave rise to this idea through his general knowledge of chemistry. Pabodie, designed and built a durable yet light weight drill that could bore through rock but also have the capacity of melting ice through the use of copper electrodes. In order to obtain some rock and fossil specimens the expedition’s engineer, Professor Frank H. Only 0.4% of the entire continent is covered by exposed rock with the rest it being under ice. Thus, is it not surprising that a large component of the Expedition was dedicated to “…securing deep-level specimens of rock and soil from various parts of the Antarctic continent…” Such exploratory investigations of Antarctica were certainly warranted in Lovecraft’s day. The Miskatonic University Expedition to Antarctica was lead by Professor William Dyer of the Geology Department at Miskatonic. At the Mountains of Madness, concept art by Mcrassusart. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |