The hut served as the seasonal base of the Mount Erebus Volcano Observatory (MEVO), run by New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (NMT).

The site supports studies of Mount Erebus, an active volcano with an exposed lava lake, and formations created by it such as ice caves.

[2] Major support for all operations at LEH are conducted through McMurdo Station run by a division of NSF, the United States Antarctic Program (USAP).

The work force at LEH, which is composed of senior research scientists, professors and graduate students, maintains both scientific and logistical equipment on the mountain.

Past research has included gaseous emission concentration, composition and flux as well as thermal image stills, visible and IR video, seismic, and infrasonic studies of the volcano.