A world-leading expert on undersea volcanic activity is coming to Rotorua, and people have the chance to hear about his explorations of sites such as the Pink and White Terraces.
Dr Cornel de Ronde is a principal scientist and research geologist with GNS Science and will be a guest speaker at Rotorua's U3A's forum on June 19.
People are invited to hear De Ronde speak about his recent exploration of the Brothers Volcano in the Kermadec volcanic ridge.
Roughly the size of Ruapehu, the Brothers Volcano is located some 400km north-east of White Island and more than 1km below the surface where it spews large amounts of volcanic gases and superheated seawater into the ocean. This builds hundreds of black smoker chimneys rich in gold, copper and zinc and creating extreme environments where unusual life forms thrive.
De Ronde was co-chief scientist on the US deep-sea drilling research ship the JOIDES Resolution which last year drilled a series of holes into the volcano to discover among other things how mineral deposits such as copper and gold are formed.
