A Crystal Cave Under Mount Erebus
In A Crystal Cave Under Mount Erebus, narrator Sir David Attenborough explains how scientists explore below the surface of the ice under Mount Erebus. Learn how Ernest Shackleton first discovered Mount Erebus, and what scientists are learning about the formations and labyrinth-like caves under Antarctica’s largest mountain. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Frozen Planet, a series that shows a fragile world of beauty and hostility, where nature finds a way to survive and thrive in frigid conditions.
Lesson Express
Q: What are scientists on Mount Erebus doing?
A: They are measuring and documenting the changes in the formation of caves below the surface.
Q: How are the caves changing? What is causing them to change?
A: Steam from vents in an underground volcano is shaping the cave.
Q: What theory do the cave explorers have about some of the crystal formations?
A: That they are formed by bacteria that live in the cave.