[10] An Italian expedition in 1990–1991 discovered heated ground and fumaroles at the caldera, implying that molten magma exists underneath the volcano.

[2] The vents of the fumaroles are centimetres wide and surrounded by efflorescences formed by hydrothermally altered rocks.

[12] Patches of[2] moss grow in rosette form[15] on sandy soil in the fumarolic areas[2] at temperatures of 17–35 °C (63–95 °F).

[18] Genetic analysis indicates that the mosses growing at Mount Rittmann arrived there in one event and are not diverse.

[30] The volcanic province is related to the tectonic events that occurred during the rifting of the Ross Sea.

[5] The volcanic rocks define a basanitic, hawaiitic, mugearitic,[31] phonolithic and trachytic suite[10] that is alkaline and sodic[32] and features olivine and plagioclase phenocrysts.

[30] The caldera appears to be younger than the volcanic rocks at Pilot Glacier,[5] although its unimpressive topographical expression might indicate an old age.

[41] Presumably, the volcano was ice-clad when the eruption commenced and meltwater from the ice interacted with the magma to trigger hydromagmatic activity.

[41] Tephrochronology has found evidence that Mount Rittmann erupted in 1254[42] and deposited a tephra layer across Antarctica.

tephra" has been identified in ice cores of East and West Antarctica;[43] its discovery at Edisto Inlet expands its occurrence to an area of over 950,000 square kilometres (370,000 sq mi) all around the volcano and to distances of over 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi).

[46] Originally, it was attributed to The Pleiades volcanoes before its source at Mount Rittmann was discovered.

[8] Presently, the volcano is considered quiescent[34] and is not monitored[11] although a seismo-tectonic station was installed in its vicinity[47] and has recorded seismic activity, some of which may be due to ice movements and the other of volcanic origin.

[48] Small thermal anomalies have been observed from Landsat satellite images and may correspond to fumarolic activity.