Mount Belinda
| Mount Belinda | |||
| South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 False-color image of the ongoing eruption of Mount Belinda, 2005 | |||
| Montagu Island | |||
| Summit: | 4,495 feet 26°19’59"S, 58°25’59"W | ||
Mount Belinda is a stratovolcano on Montagu Island, in the South Sandwich Islands, amidst the Scotia Sea.
Mount Belinda is the most prominent feature of Montagu Island, rising to 4,495 feet above sea level; higher than Ben Nevis and the highest point of the South Sandwich Islands.
Volcano
Mount Belinda's volcano was believed to be inactive until the sighting of low-level ash emission and suspected lava effusion in 2002 by the British Antarctic Survey.[1]
Belinda erupted in 2001.[2] The eruption produced large quantities of basaltic lava, melting the thick cover of ice that had accumulated while the volcano lay dormant, and "producing a marvellous 'natural laboratory'; for studying lava-ice interactions relevant to the biology of extreme environments as well as to processes believed to be important on Mars."
The activity throughout 2005 marked the highest levels yet. The increase in activity in the fall of 2005 produced an active lava flow 2 miles long - a molten river a hundred yards wide, extending from the summit cone of Mount Belinda to the sea. The flow spreads northeast from the volcanic vent, and then becomes diverted due north by an arête.[3] The event has expanded the area of the island by 49 acres and provided some of the first scientific observations of volcanic eruptions taking place underneath an ice sheet.
By late 2007 eruptive activity ceased and in 2010 the only activity was from scattered fumeroles and cooling lava.[3]
Outside links
- "Mount Belinda Erupts". NASA Earth Observatory. http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17069. Retrieved 2006-05-02.
- LeMasurier, W. E.; Thomson, J. W. (eds.) (1990). Volcanoes of the Antarctic Plate and Southern Oceans. American Geophysical Union. p. 512 pp. ISBN 0-87590-172-7.
- News@Nature story on the 2005 eruption (subscription required)
References
- ↑ "Ongoing Eruption of Mount Belinda". NASA Earth Observatory. http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=12525. Retrieved 2006-05-02.
- ↑ First recorded eruption of Mount Belinda volcano (Montagu Island), South Sandwich Islands, Bull Volcanol (2005) 67:415–422 (PDF)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Global Volcanism Program Monthly Reports on Montague Island Eruption
- Gazetteer and Map of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands: Mount Belinda
