Chapter 7.3 Mount Melbourne and Mount Rittmann

Abstract

Mount Melbourne and Mount Rittmann are quiescent, although potentially explosive, alkaline volcanoes located 100 km apart in Northern Victoria Land quite close to three stations (Mario Zucchelli Station, Gondwana and Jang Bogo). The earliest investigations on Mount Melbourne started at the end of the 1960s; Mount Rittmann was discovered during the 1988–89 Italian campaign and knowledge of it is more limited due to the extensive ice cover. The first geophysical observations at Mount Melbourne were set up in 1988 by the Italian National Antarctic Research Programme (PNRA), which has recently funded new volcanological, geochemical and geophysical investigations on both volcanoes. Mount Melbourne and Mount Rittmann are active, and are characterized by fumaroles that are fed by volcanic fluid; their seismicity shows typical volcano signals, such as long-period events and tremor. Slow deformative phases have been recognized in the Mount Melbourne summit area. Future implementation of monitoring systems would help to improve our knowledge and enable near-real-time data to be acquired in order to track the evolution of these volcanoes. This would prove extremely useful in volcanic risk mitigation, considering that both Mount Melbourne and Mount Rittmann are potentially capable of producing major explosive activity with a possible risk to large and distant communities.

Tephrostratigraphy of proximal pyroclastic sequences at Mount Melbourne (northern Victoria Land, Antarctica): Insights into the volcanic activity since the last glacial period

“…Presently, there is an extensive fumarolic and geothermal activity in the crater and on the flanks of the volcano. The fumaroles have also produced several ice towers and a complex network of ice caves near the summit area (Gambino et al, 2021;Lyon and Giggenbach, 1974;Lyon, 1986;Worner and Viereck, 1990) The age of the last eruption from Mount Melbourne is still uncertain and there have been no direct observations. Tephra layers have been found in glacier ice at several places on the flanks of Mount Melbourne, suggesting that explosive activity may have occurred in recent times.…”

“…Recent years have seen significant advances in our knowledge and understanding of Antarctic volcanism owing to the extensive research carried out during the seasonal presence of scientists and technicians on the continent. Geological surveys, and the installation and significant improvements to the ground-based monitoring networks at some of the active volcanoes are providing new data on the eruptive history of Antarctic volcanoes and their current status (Gambino et al, 2021;Geyer et al, 2021;Sims et al, 2021). In particular, the study of tephra (volcanic ash) layers produced by explosive eruptions of Antarctic volcanoes have provided relevant information about source volcanoes and volcanic systems including the age of the eruptions, and the style and intensity of the volcanic activity (Del Carlo et al, 2015;Di Roberto et al, 2019;2021a;Iverson et al, 2014;Lee and Lee, 2017;Lee et al, 2019;Narcisi et al, 2010;Narcisi and Petite, 2021 and references therein).…”

“…From 2016, new seismological, geochemical and volcanological research was carried out on Mount Melbourne in the framework of the ICE-VOLC Project. A review of the volcanological investigations and monitoring results achieved over the last 30 years for Mount Melbourne has been recently published by Gambino et al (2021). In particular, these authors report that the volcano shows signs of activity including the magmatic signature of geochemical fluids from active fumaroles, seismicity comprising both long-period events and tremor and ground deformation with evidence of slow inflation/deflation around the summit area.…”

Introduction to volcanism in Antarctica: 200 million years of subduction, rifting and continental break-up

“…Mount Erebus also hosts the world's only semi-permanent phonolite lava lake. The presence of relict heat (Mount Berlin, Mount Melbourne and Mount Rittmann) and abundant englacial and marine tephras sourced in Mount Takahe, Mount Berlin, Mount Waesche, Mount Rittmann and, possibly, The Pleiades indicate that many others were active in recent geological time (<10 ka: Lee et al 2019;Dunbar et al 2021;Gambino et al 2021;Narcisi and Petit 2021;Di Roberto et al 2021). Three of the volcanoes are, or have been, monitored (Deception Island, Mount Erebus and Mount Melbourne) but only one has published hazard and risk assessments (Deception Island: Bartolini et al 2014;Pedrazzi et al 2018;Geyer et al 2021).…”

Implications of the study of subglacial volcanism and glaciovolcanic cave systems

“…2f). Other recent studies have examined Mount Rittmann and Mount Melbourne in Antarctica (e.g., Fraser et al 2018;Cannata et al 2018;Gambino et al 2021).…”