Lava Flow to ocean creating littoral cone

The recent increase in the lava flow to the ocean is creating littoral explosions and a cone. The lava is bursting up in small explosions and piling up lava down wind creating an arc of lava. If it keeps up, an entire cone might  form around the spot the lava is hitting the shoreline. This is happening while Kilauea continues to erupt at Halemaumau crater and at Pu’u O’o along the south-east rift zone. Two eruptions at one time is unusal. The production of vog continues at a high level.

Vog Plume wraps around Mauna Loa

During a drive from Hilo down to South Point I went through the plume of vog coming from Halemaumau crater. Just past the Mauna Loa Road I entered the plume and was in it for about 11 miles. Going downhill towards Pahala I saw the plume stay above 2,000′ elevation and wrap around Mauna Loa. When I got down to South Point I could see the vog clearly wrapping around Mauna Loa and heading NW to Kona. It looked pretty bad towards Kona. South Point was clear and windy, as usual. The forests must be taking gas from all the vog.

VOG becoming a way of life

VOG - volcanic smog, air pollution, whatever you want to call it, is a big problem now in Hawaii. Kilauea’s double eruption has significantly increased the venting of the nasty gases and particles that your lungs and plants do not like. Protea growers are finding out that their plants are not happy with the volcanic droppings of acidic air. Visibility on the other islands, all the way to Kauai, some 300 miles from Kilauea, has dropped down to under three miles on some “kona wind” days. That’s winds coming from the southeast. The Halema’uma’u vent sends its plume around Mauna Loa and collects in the Kona-Kohala area. Makes for very red sunsets. Will people living there get up and leave, or will they hang in there and wait out Madam Pele’s latest show? Time will tell.

Kilauea has small explosion - first since 1924

At 2:58 a.m. H.s.t on Wednesday, March 19, 2008, a small explosion occurred at Halema`uma`u Crater at the summit of Kilauea Volcano in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. This event was erroneously reported as an earthquake earlier this morning. The explosion scattered debris over an area of about 75 acres (30 hectares), covering a portion of Crater Rim Drive and damaging the Halema`uma`u overlook. No lava was erupted as part of the explosion, suggesting that the activity was driven by hydrothermal or gas sources.

In addition to damaging the overlook, explosive debris covers the trail to the overlook, the Halema`uma`u parking area, and the portion of Crater Rim Drive adjacent to the parking area. On Crater Rim Drive the debris was up to 2 centimeters in size, with the size and thickness of debris increasing toward the overlook. The largest observed block ejected during the explosion was about 1 cubic meter (35 cubic feet) and must have been propelled from the vent located more than 70 m (230 feet) below the crater rim. Small impact craters from 30 cm (1 foot) blocks are abundant in the Halema`uma`u overlook area. Rock debris also extends halfway across the floor of Halema`uma`u Crater. The debris is composed of rock fragments that were derived from the walls of Halema`uma`u Crater. No fresh lava was observed on the floor of Halema`uma`u or in the ejected debris.

Info from USGS HAVO - volcano update

She’s back! Pele reaches the ocean once again

For months now, Madam Pele has making what the geologists call rootless shields. Not anymore. A flow has come down through Royal Gardens subdivision and headed east and then to the ocean. So now the residents and visitors get to hike in from Kalapana side to watch the flow and the ocean  collide. The large steam plume once again rises up with it toxic mix of acids ready to rot out your lungs if you are stupid enough to breathe it in. The trek in from Kalapana allows for upwind viewing. Of course, the County of Hawaii is now trying to set up a safe way for everyone to get a good view of this phase of the eruption.

Under the sea, around Hawaii - new digital maps

The Feds at NOAA have created a set of digital maps of the nearshore waters around the Hawaiian Islands. See the influence that a fresh water stream has on a coral reef. See where coral reefs are and are not. NOAA calls them “shallow-water benthic habitats.” Easier to call them coral maps. These shallow areas are where the Humpback Whales like to recreate in Hawaii.The maps can be found at:  http://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/products/biogeography/hawaii_cd_07/startup.html 

Kona storm works over islands

A Kona storm has been slowly moving across the main islands with high winds, and very heavy rain. The storm has included a very defined line of thunderstorms which have moved from Kauai down to the Big Island. Oahu had winds up to gusts of 70 mph, and very heavy showers. For more information on Kona storms see:  http://www.weather.com/blog/weather/8_14231.html?from=wxcenter_news#postcomment

Japan’s research whaling a total shibai

How stupid do they take us to be? Japanese research whaling of Humbpacks in the Antartic is starting up again along with “research whaling” of minke whales and fin whales. The meat from the murdered research animals will be sold commercially. Disgusting is the only word I can think of. Maybe we should inform every Japanese tourist going on whale-watching cruises in Hawaii and elsewhere just how disturbing their country’s research whaling really is. What a shibai!

Lava flows use tubes to head south-east towards Kalapana

The current eruption of Kilauea along the rift zone is now sending lava flows east and southeast. The eruption over the last few months has been mainly A’a lava flows. The recent development of the the lava tubes allows for the quicker expansion of the pahoehoe flows further away from the source. The flows are heading to lower elevations in the direction south-east and towards Kalapana. Much of Kalapana town and its famous Kaimu black sands beach were covered by lava flows in the late eighties. Another round of flows may reach down to the ocean again if the tubes don’t get blocked.

With oil at $100 a barrel - will Hawaii’s economy wilt?

While the Hawaii legislature spins out a revised Keep the Superferry alive bill, the oil merchants have watched its favorite product zoom up to $100 a barrel. HECO surcharges are up, shippers fuel charges are up, and airliner jet fuels are up. Of course, our politicians are shopping around a 2050 sustainability plan with little attention to the current zoom in oil prices.

When air fares zoom to match the cost of jet fuel, will Hawaii suffer? When the cost of oil for our too-numerous oil-burning power plants zooms, will Hawaii suffer? When the cost of gas for our SUV’s zooms, will Hawaii suffer? A no brainer I’d say. But here we sit spinning around debating Superferry impact theories, many of which will piss off the activists even more than before.

We should be pushing forward alternate energy projects that would significantly reduce our need for imported oil. The future price of oil may go way higher, but will our attention turn soon enough?