Drillers looking for geothermal energy on the Big Island of Hawaii got a pipe full of magma. Only 2.5 km down, the well hit a source of magma and up it came. The magma quickly cooled and solidified. The geologists were surprised by the shallow depth of the magma.
For story details see: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7780873.stm
USGS scientists confirmed the sighting of a lava lake sloshing around in Halemaumau crater at Kilauea volcano. Also the vent hole has grown in size with recent small earthquakes. The spectacle of an active lava lake in Halemaumau may be coming back to the way it used to be. It would prove quite a draw for residents and visitors alike since this active volcano is very easy to get to. No long treks in the boonies in order to get a good view of the crater since Hawaii Volcanoes National Park provides great access. Meanwhile lava flows continue to flow down to the ocean from the Pu’u O’o vent area. And tons of vog continue to be created.
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.
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 – 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.
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
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.
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.
A large chunk of the East Lae`apuki bench collapsed into the ocean on Monday August 13, 2007. The USGS stated that it must have collapsed some time Monday night because National Park Service personnel reported it Monday afternoon but a helicopter tour pilot reported it missing Tuesday morning. The collapse could have been caused either by the M5.4 earthquake Monday evening, the high surf in advance of hurricane Flossie, or both.
The scientists have stated that the entire southeast rift zone of Kilauea is a potential gigantic landslide candidate someday. But don’t hold your breath waiting for it to happen!
The current a’a lava flow along the southeast rift zone of Kilauea is heading more east now and is burning forest that is resident on the somewhat geologically older lava flows. Lower Puna residents who live closer to the coast will start seeing more smoke rising as the flow crunches along into the forest. How long will this flow keep going is the question. It could start picking up speed as it reaches somewhat more slope to the southeast. Then gravity helps it move along and downslope. It might even chug on down to a possible ocean entry by Kaimu, former site of a wonderful black sand beach and surf spots, a place with fond memories for me from the seventies.
