Volcano

Question – Visiting the Big Island to View the Lava Flow

Question: I'm interested in the best way to travel to see the lava flows? We would fly out of Seattle. 1) Is it best to fly to Honolulu and then drive, or continue on to a different flight destination? (If it's more than a three hour drive from Honolulu, I'd prefer to fly if that's an option.) 2) Also, in what town near the lava flows would we stay overnight?

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Question: What Should I Wear at the Mauna Kea Summit?

We received the following question by email: My wife and I will be visiting the Big Island in the end of July/early August. We plan on hiking around Volcano a bit and the Mauna Kea summit. I am trying to plan ahead and purchase things a bit at a time. I keep reading that in these places, a "light" rain jacket is needed. For me, a "light" jacket is not lined (generally with fleece). So...if we go to these places, will we need a LINED rain jacket, or un UNLINED rain jacket? Thank you.

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New Lava Flow at Kilauea Volcano!

On August 3, just after 2:00 p.m., Hawaiian Standard Time, the floor of the long-erupting Pu`u `O`o crater collapsed and lava began erupting from new vents on the west flank of Pu`u `O`o cone, sending flows towards the north and south of the cone. Since that time, lava has continued to erupt from these west-flank vents, but the active lava has retreated closer to the vent area and is largely contained within a perched lava pond. A very small amount of lava has returned to the collapsed floor of Pu`u `O`o over the past week.

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Question – Tsunami Damage to Kona

We received the following question by email: Hi. Coming to Hawaii in July 2011. Spending most time on Kauai. Would like to come to Kona and hike and see volcano/lava. Was there any damage from storms that would prevent us from doing that in Kona?

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New Kilauea Lava Flow Ravages Kalapana

Late July 2010 has brought a re-invigorated lava flow from the Kilauea Volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii. The Pu'u O'o vent has brought shifting lava flows over the years - many have been inocuous ocean entry lava flows that culminate in orange oozing lava being doused by the Pacific Ocean along the rocky coast. But recently, the lava flow has once again shifted to the east, threatening neighborhoods in the previously lava-devastated town of Kalapana.

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Kilauea Volcano Lava Flows near Kalapana

A fresh lava flow from the Pu’u ‘O’o eruption has advanced about a mile since early April 2010, and geologists believe if it continues on its current path, it will rejoin the older flow field on the coastal plain just west of the current viewing area near Kalapana (east of the Volanoes National Park).

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Busy Big Island Day with Kids (Part 1 – Volcano)

We just arrived back on the Big Island for another exciting trip. This time we have several young kids (age 3 and 4) in our group and we are excited to show them all of the wonderful things the Big Island has to offer. My last several trips were with either friends or family (without the kids), so this trip will obviously be different.

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Kilauea Lava Flow Reaches the Ocean

Erupting Kilauea volcano is sending dozens of small lava flows to the ocean. Jim Kauahikaua is the scientist-in-charge at the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory on the Big Island. He said a flow destroyed a cabin this week. It was the last remaining structure in a flow field. Kauahikaua added that the flows have come close to the trailhead leading to a lava viewing area, and have entered the ocean about 2,300 feet west of the still-active ocean entry at Waikupanaha. He said flows are also creating a new lava tube system next to and over the main tube that has supplied lava to the ocean since March 2008.

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Big Island Vog Conditions Improving?

Lava isn’t the only thing flowing out of Hawaiian volcanoes. In early 2008, Kilauea’s sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions nearly doubled with the onset of the Halemaumau summit eruption, causing widespread public concern. Like lava flow hazards, successful forecasting of gas hazards requires detailed knowledge of fluid properties, but, in this case, for gases. Most of Kilauea’s emissions are water vapor and carbon dioxide, but public concern understandably focuses on the irritating and readily detectable SO2. Although heavier than air, this gas rises above ground level when released hot. To our eyes, SO2 itself is invisible. Reacting with sunlight, oxygen, and water vapor, however, SO2 converts to the visible, inhalable, acid sulfate aerosol droplets we “see” as vog.

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Kilauea Volcano Update

Kilauea activity update – from the US Geological Survey, Big Island

Surface flows in the Royal Gardens subdivision slowed early this past week in response to a deflation-inflation event at Kilauea’s summit, but had picked up again by Wednesday evening. At the coast, the Waikupanaha and Kupapau ocean entries remain active and continue to produce prominent plumes, accompanied by small littoral explosions as lava spills into the ocean.

At Kilauea’s summit, a series of collapses in the vent within Halemaumau Crater on Tuesday caused a significant widening of the vent. Rubble from the collapses filled the bottom of the vent and partly choked off the emission of gas, resulting in a wispy plume. Despite this rubble, the vent is still emitting elevated amounts of volcanic gas, resulting in high concentrations of sulfur dioxide downwind. The glow from the vent, visible early in the week from Jaggar Museum, was extinguished by the collapses. However, a webcam recorded a few points of incandescence within the vent on Wednesday night, suggesting that lava still resides deep within the vent below the pile of rubble.

Five earthquakes beneath Hawaii Island were reported felt this past week. A 3.5 magnitude earthquake occurred at 8:39 p.m., on June 28 and was located 2 miles southeast of Makawao, Maui, at a depth of 19 miles. Three earthquakes with magnitudes between 2.4 and 2.6 occurred on Tuesday (one at 1:38 and two at 2:29 p.m.), and were located beneath Halemaumau Crater at depths between 0.9-1.1 miles. A 3.3 magnitude earthquake occurred at 10:45 p.m. on Tuesday and was located six miles northeast of Kukuihaele at a depth of 16 miles.