Preface Volcanology of Erebus volcano, Antarctica Clive Oppenheimer a, ⁎, Philip Kyle b a University of Cambridge, United Kingdom b Department of Earth & Environmental Science, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM, USA “Erebus not only commands a view of incomparable grandeur and interest, but is in itself one of the fairest and most majestic sights that Earth can show.” (David in Shackleton, 1908). In January 1841 Captain James Clark Ross sailed with his 2 diminutive ships Erebus and Terror into what is now known as the southern Ross Sea. On 28 January 1841, he noted: “…some land which had been in sight since the preceding noon…. we called the “High Island;” it proved to be a mountain twelve thousand four hundred feet of elevation…. emitting flame and smoke in great profusion… as we drew nearer, its true character became manifest. The discovery of an active volcano in so high a southern latitude cannot but be esteemed a circumstance of high geological importance and interest, and contribute to throw some further light on the physical construction of our globe. I named it “Mount Erebus”…” (Ross, 1847). And so Erebus volcano was discovered, named and shown to be active. Erebus is a large stratovolcano 3794 m high above sea level with a subaerial volume of ∼ 2000 km 3 (Esser et al., 2004). It is sited on thinned (18 km) crust in the Terror rift near the western boundary of the West Antarctic rift system (Behrendt, 1999). Along with its subsidiary volcanoes, Erebus forms the bulk of Ross Island. The volcano dominates the site of the US McMurdo Station and the New Zealand Scott Base that host a wide range of Antarctic science operations. Erebus is the most active volcano in Antarctica and possesses a unique anorthoclase phonolite geochemistry among the Earth's active volcanoes. It is also unique in hosting a persistent convecting lake of magma in its summit crater (Kyle et al., 1992). This lake, while a long- lived feature, is also the site of Strombolian explosions that cluster in time intervals of several months (Aster et al., 2003). The sustained low-level “open vent” activity makes the volcano an excellent laboratory to study the dynamics of both effusive and explosive eruptions and to investigate the sometimes abrupt transitions in behaviour. Despite its remoteness, three decades of volcanological research have now been chalked up at Erebus thanks in large part to outstanding support from the Office of Polar Programs of the National Science Foundation. This Special Issue on the “Volcanology of Erebus volcano, Antarctica” has the aim of showcasing a wide-ranging selection of the most recent scientific research on the volcano, but it also marks and commemorates two notable events. The first is the 100th anniversary of the first ascent of the volcano and the second is the International Polar Year (IPY 2007–2008), which is still underway at the time of writing. Our first knowledge of the geology of Erebus was gleaned during the “heroic era” of exploration of Antarctica during the early 1900's. Four separate expeditions lead by Ernest Shackleton and Robert Scott built bases at the foot of Erebus, and geologists collected and mapped the volcanic rocks in the vicinity of these encampments. It was in March 1908 that the first party (belonging to Shackleton's 1907–9 “Nimrod” British Antarctic Expedition) climbed Erebus and glimpsed the steaming summit crater (Fig. 1). They included the geologists: T.W. Edgeworth David (University of Sydney) and Douglas Mawson (University of Adelaide), their assistant Sir Philip Brocklehurst (who lost a few toes in the undertaking), Alistair Mackay (surgeon), Jameson Adams (meteorologist) and Eric Marshall (cartographer). All but Brocklehurst (who turned 21 on the ascent) reached the crater rim on 10 March 1908, and in David's words: “We stood on the verge of a vast abyss and at first could see neither to the bottom nor across it on account of the huge mass of steam filling the crater and soaring aloft in a column 500 to 1000 ft high. After a continuous loud hissing sound, lasting for some minutes, there would come from below a big dull boom, and immediately great globular masses of steam would rush upwards to swell the volume of the snow-white cloud which ever sways over the crater. This phenomenon recurred at intervals during the whole of our stay at the crater. Meanwhile, the air around us was extremely redolent of burning sulphur. Presently a pleasant northerly breeze fanned away the steam cloud, and at once the whole crater stood revealed to us in all its vast extent and depth.” (Shackleton, 1909). IPY 2007–2008 is a large scientific effort that is focused on the Arctic and the Antarctic (http://www.ipy.org/). It covers two full annual cycles from March 2007 to March 2009. It was organized through the International Council for Science and the World Meteorological Organiza- tion. This is the fourth Polar Year. The first was in 1882–3, the second from 1932 to 1933. The third Polar Year was part of the broader International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957–1958, in which many nations collaborated to exploit new technologies to understand the Earth. IGY was the Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 177 (2008) v–vii ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail address: co200@cam.ac.uk (C. Oppenheimer). 0377-0273/$ – see front matter © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2008.10.006 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jvolgeores