Monitoring Mt. Erebus at Lower Erebus Hut (LEH) Observatory

Lower Erebus Hut (LEH) at the base of Mt. Erebus crater.  Photo: Rebecca Williams

The Lower Erebus Hut (LEH) is the main monitoring station of the Mt. Erebus Volcano Observatory.  This is where we prepare and eat our meals, use our computers with mediocre wireless internet, play bananagrams, and wait out the storms.  The above photo was taken during a weather day with very poor visibility and near whiteout conditions.  The hut seats about 14 max.  

LEH monitoring station.

Infra-red camera image of the lava lake within the crater

Real-time stream of gas concentrations in the crater's plume.

The hut's monitoring station includes a real-time stream of four gas concentrations in the plume rising from the crater, and an infra-red camera image of the lava lake at the base of the crater. The plume results from degassing of the lava lake.

Current research consists of

1.  continued monitoring of the SO2 flux from the lava lake
2.  measuring the CO2 emissions from the lava lake and summit
3. geochronology of the summit and flank lava flows
4. continued monitoring and interpretation of seismic and seismoacoustic activity volcano through the use of a network of highly-sensitive broad-band seismometers
5.  establishing a GPS base network to monitor the short- and long-term deformation of the volcano