An astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) has captured a stunning image of a hydrothermal lake shrouded in snow atop New Zealand’s real-life ‘Mount Doom’.
Mount Ruapehu, New Zealand’s largest active volcano and the setting used to film Mount Doom in the ‘Lord of the Rings’ films, lies at the heart of Tongariro National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. UNESCO located centrally in the North Island of New Zealand. Other parts of the park were also used to depict the evil kingdom of Mordor in Peter Jackson’s film adaptation of JRR Tolkien’s fantasy epic.
An unidentified astronaut, who was part of the Expedition 65 the crew on board international space station, took the stunning new photo on September 23, 2021, as the ISS passed over the volcano. The image was posted online on September 18 this year by NASA Earth Observatory.
Related: International Space Station: Live Updates
The hydrothermal lake atop Mount Ruapehu, known as Crater Lake, or Te Wai ā-moe, sits between the mountain’s three main peaks, the highest of which reaches 9,177 feet (2,797 meters) above above sea level. A magma chamber deep within the volcano heats the lake and therefore the Temperature of the lake fluctuates between 59 and 113 degrees Fahrenheit (15 and 45 degrees Celsius). The lake is also very acidic, with a pH below 1, due to large amounts of volcanic gases dissolving in the water, according to NASA’s Earth Observatory.
Crater Lake is important to geologists monitoring the volcano’s threat level. The hydrothermal lake is the only accessible part of the volcanic system that researchers can study, and rapid temperature fluctuations in the water may reflect changes in activity below the volcano’s snow-capped peak.
In June, the alert level for Mount Ruapehu was raised from “minor volcanic unrest” to “moderate to intensified volcanic unrest”, according to the Geological Hazards Information website. GeoNet (opens in a new tab), following a mini-swarm of earthquakes under the volcano. During this time, Crater Lake’s water temperature rose sharply to a peak temperature of 104 F (40 C).
But the alert level was lowered in July after the water temperature fell to 75 F (24 C). Based on temperature changes in the lake, experts believe the spike in activity was the result of a brief intrusion of magma into the chamber below the volcano, according to the Earth Observatory.
This isn’t the first time real volcanoes have been mixed with fictional Middle-earth locations.
In 2021, researchers discovered the remains of a deep-sea caldera that belonged to a long-extinct underwater volcano. The team dubbed the structure “Eye of Sauron” (opens in a new tab) due to its resemblance to the all-seeing eye from “The Lord of the Rings”.
Originally posted on Live Science.