The weirdest volcano...

[Nik]

Alchemy in Tanzania? Gas Becomes Solid at Surface of Oldoinyo Lengai Volcano
quote:
(PhysOrg.com) -- Science has unearthed the secret to what might have been alchemy at Oldoinyo Lengai volcano in Tanzania.

There, in the ancient East African Rift at a place known to local Maasai people as the Mountain of God, Oldoinyo Lengai spews forth carbon dioxide-laden lavas called carbonatites. The carbonatites line the volcano's flanks like snowballs.

Oldoinyo Lengai is the only place on Earth where carbonatites currently erupt--and where carbon dioxide from a volcano doesn't vanish into thin air as a gas.
/quote.

 

[Nik]

Ol Doinyo Lengai is a maverick. Of Earth's hundreds of active volcanoes, it's the only one currently producing a black, runny lava instead of the familiar goopy, glowing red stuff. Now, an international team of researchers thinks it has found the explanation for the unusual behavior of the Tanzanian volcano, which has to do with its location and the future of the African continent.

Volcanic Fish Out of Water -- Berardelli 2009 (506): 1 -- ScienceNOW