Flesch - Kincaid RL = 5.5 = RL Kincaid - Flesch
http://beyondpenguins.nsdl.org/information.php?topic=stories
2008 DECEMBER Find this story and others at: others and story this Find
Prometheus Books in 2008. in Books Prometheus
called The Turtle and the Universe was published by by published was Universe the and Turtle The called
BY STEPHEN WHITT STEPHEN BY
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ for children’s science magazines, and his first book, book, first his and magazines, science children’s for
COSI’s floor faculty. He has written over 40 articles articles 40 over written has He faculty. floor COSI’s THE HEART OF EREBUS OF HEART THE Licensed Under a Creative Commons license. Commons Creative a Under Licensed
exhibit signs and show scripts, and co-directing co-directing and scripts, show and signs exhibit
Science Foundation Science
performing shows and demonstrations, writing writing demonstrations, and shows performing
National the by Supported
Stephen Whitt has been with COSI since 1993, 1993, since COSI with been has Whitt Stephen
Teaching and Learning COSI Learning and Teaching Copyright December 2008 – The Ohio State University State Ohio The – 2008 December Copyright
Director of Experience Programs Programs Experience of Director
(December 2008) (December
Stephen Whitt Stephen Earth’s Changing Surface Surface Changing Earth’s 9: Issue
ABOUT THE AUTHOR THE ABOUT http://beyondpenguins.nsdl.org
THE HEART OF EREBUS THE HEART OF EREBUS
But the real wonder is inside the AN UNUSUAL VOLCANO volcano’s crater itself. There you’ll Erebus is unusual in many ways. find a lake of molten rock! This The rocks found there are like lava lake sometimes spits out rocks found near volcanoes in “lava bombs,” or rocks that whiz Africa. But this seems strange. overhead when a pocket of gas How can a volcano in Antarctica suddenly bubbles up from inside be like volcanoes thousands of the lake. miles to the north?
Aerial view of lava lake. Photo courtesy of Mt. Erebus. Photo courtesy of Nick Powell, U.S. J.D. Griggs, Wikimedia Commons. Antarctic Program, National Science Foundation.
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tell us about Earth’s insides. insides. Earth’s about us tell
Photo courtesy of jeaneeem, Flickr. Flickr. jeaneeem, of courtesy Photo
Steam from the top of Mount Erebus. Erebus. Mount of top the from Steam
understand what this volcano can can volcano this what understand
heart of Erebus. of heart
of these scientists. He wants to to wants He scientists. these of
magma chamber. It would give Dr. Kyle his first real look into the the into look real first his Kyle Dr. give would It chamber. magma
Observatory. Dr. Philip Kyle is one one is Kyle Philip Dr. Observatory.
water. The scientists hope that this will help them “see” inside the the inside “see” them help will this that hope scientists The water.
called the Mount Erebus Volcano Volcano Erebus Mount the called
the sound waves bats and dolphins use to find objects in the air and and air the in objects find to use dolphins and bats waves sound the
the volcano’s summit at a place place a at summit volcano’s the
mountain and bounce off whatever might be inside. It’s a little like like little a It’s inside. be might whatever off bounce and mountain
Scientists live and work near near work and live Scientists
explosions. The explosions create waves that travel through the the through travel that waves create explosions The explosions.
active volcano in the world! world! the in volcano active
most excited about a new way of “looking” inside the volcano using using volcano the inside “looking” of way new a about excited most
volcano. It is the most-southern most-southern the is It volcano.
to the next field season. It will be his 37th on the mountain! He’s He’s mountain! the on 37th his be will It season. field next the to
ordinary mountain. Erebus is a a is Erebus mountain. ordinary
Even though it is a hard place to work, Dr. Kyle is looking forward forward looking is Kyle Dr. work, to place hard a is it though Even
As you might guess, this isn’t an an isn’t this guess, might you As
THE HEART OF EREBUS OF HEART THE THE HEART OF EREBUS OF HEART THE
THE HEART OF EREBUS THE HEART OF EREBUS
WALKING ON THE EDGE OF A DIFFERENT WORLD THE FIERY HEART OF A VOLCANO It’s not just the African cousins that make Erebus unusual. The lava lake also First there are ice caves, carved out by hot steam escaping from makes Erebus unique, Dr. Kyle says. There are only a few volcanoes on Earth that vents in the volcano’s sides. Dr. Kyle says the caves are great places have one. For the scientists, the lake is like a window into the Earth’s insides. to explore and photograph, and they stay surprisingly warm. Next are the towering pillars of frozen steam. Hot steam escaping directly The lake is made up of molten rock called magma. The lake bubbles and into the air can freeze and create a sort of reverse icicle pointing sometimes shoots out lava bombs. Scientists study the lake to learn about toward the sky. Some of these steam pillars are enormous, and last what’s happening inside the volcano. Deep below is a place called the magma for many years. chamber. Dr. Kyle calls it “the heart of the volcano.” It’s this heart that he most wants to understand.
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Tim Vermaat, Mt. Erebus Image Gallery. Image Erebus Mt. Vermaat, Tim
of courtesy Photo interior. cave Ice
sea and ice. and sea
rift. However, this crack in the Earth’s crust is covered year-round by by year-round covered is crust Earth’s the in crack this However, rift.
called the Great East Africa Rift Valley. Mt. Erebus rises out of a similar similar a of out rises Erebus Mt. Valley. Rift Africa East Great the called
picture of a rift in the Earth. The volcanoes in Africa arise from a place place a from arise Africa in volcanoes The Earth. the in rift a of picture
and even split if you pull it from two sides, and you’ll have a good good a have you’ll and sides, two from it pull you if split even and
and torn by forces from below. Think of the way dough might stretch stretch might dough way the of Think below. from forces by torn and
. These cracks form when the land is stretched stretched is land the when form cracks These . rifts called Earth the in
Volcanoes like Mt. Erebus and its African cousins arise from long cracks cracks long from arise cousins African its and Erebus Mt. like Volcanoes
THE HEART OF EREBUS OF HEART THE THE HEART OF EREBUS OF HEART THE
THE HEART OF EREBUS THE HEART OF EREBUS GLOSSARY
Just off the continent of Antarctica is Ross Island. The tiny spot of land is ALTITUDE – the height above sea level home to a strange and lovely mountain named Erebus (er-uh-buh s). Near the mountain’s peak are some of the most unusual formations MAGMA – melted rock beneath the Earth’s surface found anywhere on the planet. There are caves carved RIFT – a large crack in the Earth’s surface that forms when the land is stretched and torn from ice, frozen columns of steam, and sharp, jagged, Mt. Erebus black rocks, poking up from beneath the ice. Smoke TRANSPORT – to move from one place to another and steam fill the air. Sometimes the ground Ross Island rumbles beneath your feet. Steaming, red-hot UNUSUAL – not ordinary rocks might fly over your head and crash onto ANTARCTICA
the ice all around you. °S 60
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time to adjust to the conditions. the to adjust to time a place to store equipment. store to place a
a lower camp and then slowly move higher and higher. This gives their bodies bodies their gives This higher. and higher move slowly then and camp lower a One hut is for living and working. The other is used as a workshop and and workshop a as used is other The working. and living for is hut One
deal with this by moving up the volcano in stages. They spend several days at at days several spend They stages. in volcano the up moving by this with deal The research station, called MEVO for short, is just two simple huts. huts. simple two just is short, for MEVO called station, research The
gets. This makes it harder to breathe and can even make you sick. The scientists scientists The sick. you make even can and breathe to harder it makes This gets.
and work on the side of the volcano itself! volcano the of side the on work and
affects the scientists. The higher you go in the atmosphere, the thinner the air air the thinner the atmosphere, the in go you higher The scientists. the affects
that far to Ross Island and the volcano. While they are there, they live live they there, are they While volcano. the and Island Ross to far that
also also altitude high The winds! 100-miles-per-hour cause can Storms there.
Antarctica and a research station called McMurdo. From there, it isn’t isn’t it there, From McMurdo. called station research a and Antarctica
Weather doesn’t affect the volcano, but it does affect the scientists who work work who scientists the affect does it but volcano, the affect doesn’t Weather
How do scientists like Dr. Kyle get to Erebus? First, they travel to to travel they First, Erebus? to get Kyle Dr. like scientists do How
LIVING AND WORKING ON A VOLCANO A ON WORKING AND LIVING
THE HEART OF EREBUS OF HEART THE EREBUS OF HEART THE
THE HEART OF EREBUS THE HEART OF EREBUS
LIQUID ROCK AND SOLID ICE Helicopters and snowmobiles take scientists from the How can a place as cold as Antarctica have station most of the way to volcanoes that erupt? The heat of volcanoes the crater rim. Then they has nothing to do with the weather. Instead, walk the remaining short a volcano’s heat comes from deep inside the distance. But this short Earth. There the temperature is hot enough trip up the sides of Erebus to melt rock. When the magma finds a crack transports the scientists or a weak spot in the Earth’s crust above, it into what must seem like a pushes its way up to the surface. different world. Mt. Erebus. Photo courtesy Exploding Lava. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. of Major Clanger, Flickr.
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