Perilous expedition to uninhabited island in South Atlantic confirms existence of world’s 8th lava lake

In 2001, NASA satellites scanning an uninhabited island near Antarctica in the South Atlantic Ocean detected a thermal anomaly that left scientists reeling. Deep inside an unexplored volcano, they detected the signature of a bubbling lake of molten rock. Only seven such lava lakes were known worldwide.

With nothing but thermal data, however, volcanologists were unable to confirm the existence of a lava lake. Two decades later, they finally did it. In a brand-new “Explorer” episode premiering Thursday (Oct. 26), filmmakers followed scientists and mountaineers as they negotiated the first ascent of Mount Michael, a volcano on Saunders Island in the South Sandwich Islands, and confirmed it contained the lake.