above 1. Deep mantle structures that formed through subduction billions of years ago and remained isolated since then have been proposed as the source of Gaussberg lamproites. The Kerguelen plume may or may not have played a role. Eruption history Drastically different age estimates have been obtained on Gaussberg. Early research suggested a Pliocene or Miocene age based on a presumed history of the Antarctic Ice Sheet and comparisons between the appearance of Gaussberg with Kerguelen volcanoes. Potassium-argon dating has yielded ages of 20 and 9 million years, with younger dating efforts producing an age of 56,000±5,000 years. Fission track dating produced ages of 25,000±12,000 years and geomorphologic considerations support a late Pleistocene age. These disagreements between potassium-argon dating and other dating methods may indicate either contamination with older rocks or the presence of non-outgassed argon. The 56,000±5,000 years age is considered to be more probable than the 20 and 9 million years ones. Gaussberg was probably constructed in a single eruptive episode but there is evidence that the present-day edifice formed on an older, eroded volcano. Gaussberg formed under much thicker ice than there is today in the area, and the ice deposited moraines on its summit. There are different views on how erosion affected Gaussberg; some think that it was largely spared and others that erosion wore down the initially much larger edifice to its current size; the latter theory is the preferred view of the Global Volcanism Program and is supported by aeromagnetic data which suggest an initial size of . Dust layers in the Siple Dome ice core may come from wind-driven erosion of Gaussberg rocks. Biology Several moss species were identified at Gaussberg, as well as a protozoan fauna such as rotifers inhabiting them. Nematodes and tardigrades have been found at Gaussberg. It was the first place on the Antarctic mainland where lichens were reported. Emperor penguin rookeries occur at the mountain and snow petrels were observed to breed there, but overall there is not much fauna at Gaussberg. See also List of volcanoes in Antarctica References Sources Mountains of Antarctica Volcanoes of Antarctica Extinct volcanoes Volcanic cones Landforms of Kaiser Wilhelm II Land Pleistocene volcanoes Subglacial volcanoes