USGS VIA AP
This webcam symbol provided through the U. S. Geological Survey shows a view of an eruption that began Wednesday at Halemaumau Crater atop Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii.
Kilauea, one of the most active volcanoes on the planet, erupted Wednesday on the Big Island of Hawaii, in a home-based domain that is entirely contained in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
Officials said the buildup of seismic activity and swelling of the floor before the eruption put them on high alert. Then cracks opened in the summit domain and sent lava fountains into the sky. Now the domain has been filled with molten rock, creating a lava lake. in the crater of the volcano.
The new lava is an expected evolution of a volcano recharging after a massive eruption in 2018 that tired much of its magma.
The 2018 eruption destroyed many homes and displaced thousands of residents, but experts say this new eruption is expected to spread to residential areas.
Here is a review of Kilauea’s latest eruption:
Did the scientists know it was coming?
Scientists at the Hawaii Volcano Observatory detected a wave of earthquakes about five miles east of the summit’s caldera early Wednesday, and in the afternoon, a series of earthquakes accompanied by swelling of the floor led them to raise the alert level.
“We captured a series of earthquakes in the East Rift Zone, on the order of about five miles from the summit. And they came here in what we would call a small swarm. So one after another,” said Ken Hon, the USGS Rate Scientist at the Hawaii Volcano Observatory. “They were alert enough to suspect that the tension was rising within the system. “
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The firm raised its alert point “to orange or look, expecting only one eruption,” “Honorable. ” And 20 minutes later, in fact, there is an eruption. “
It is not unusual for Kilauea to delight in earthquakes, implying that magma moves beneath the floor or parts of volcanoes move. Earthquakes and floor swelling at the same time can be a precursor to a rash.
ARE RASHES RARE?
Eruptions on Kilauea are not uncommon. In fact, the volcano erupted almost frequently for decades, but especially not in densely populated residential spaces before the 2018 eruption; this time it destroyed more than 700 houses and displaced thousands of residents.
Kilauea had been active since 1983 and lava flows covered farms and cottages. Meanwhile, lava infrequently reached the ocean, causing dramatic interactions with water.
The same domain of the volcano that began erupting on Wednesday also erupted in December and lasted until May.
Hawaiian songs and narrate countless eruptions. In Hawaiian tradition, Kilauea is home to the volcano goddess Pele. Kilauea has erupted 34 times since 1952.
HOW MUCH LAVA?
Hon said that hours after Wednesday’s eruption, the crater floor at the most sensitive of the volcano was covered with more than 6 feet of lava.
In 4 months in 2018, Kilauea spit out enough lava to fill 320,000 Olympic swimming pools, burying more than a portion of Manhattan’s length in up to 80 feet (24 meters) of now-hardened lava. streets and neighborhoods to a vast box of blackened rocks and volcanic chips.
The December eruption created a lava lake with molten rock to fill 10 Hoover dams.
After the 2018 eruption, a lava lake at the most sensitive point in the same region erupted and, for the first time in recorded history, began to fill with water, creating a freshwater lake stained with volcanic matter.
WHAT ARE THE DANGERS?
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park remained open to the public and the government expected tens of thousands of people to come and see the new eruption.
National park spokeswoman Jessica Ferracane said that while the lava itself is where other people can walk or drive from, there are still other risks.
The gases emanating from the volcano can be harmful if inhaled, and as the column moves away from people, the wind can simply replace it and send it into the spaces where the public gathers.
Ferracane said other people with safe physical situations avoid gas.
He also noted that there are massive cracks in the floor that other people can fall into and visitors avoid reaching the edge of the caldera. There is a drop of about 500 feet (152. 4 meters) from the crater rim to the floor. .
Ferracane added that the giant crowds want to be aware of pandemic-like considerations.
“This eruption will attract a lot of other people to the park, we’re already seeing other people coming into the park, driving after dark tonight,” Ferracane said. “I really want other people not to forget that we are in the middle. of a pandemic and they want to stay and protect us too. “
He said other people will have to stand on the side of 1. 8 meters (6 feet) and wear masks.
OR WAS THE RASH PERFORMED?
It occurred atop Kilauea Volcano, an uninhabited domain of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island, about two hundred miles (322 kilometers) southeast of Honolulu, which is located on the island called Oahu.
“All the symptoms imply that it will remain in the crater,” said Hon, the USGS scientist. “We see no indication that the lava is moving into the decreasing component of the east rift zone where other people live. Currently, all the activity is in the park.
It is miles from the nearest town. The park has closed this component of the summit to the public since 2008.
The 2018 eruption occurred in the East Rift decline zone. Cracks have opened in Leilani Estates and other populated areas of the Puna district on the island. Lava from this eruption meandered into the Pacific Ocean, destroying homes and farms along the way. The lava evaporated a freshwater lake and created a new black sand beach.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?
Because much of the magma that had fed Kilauea for years erupted in 2018, the volcano is recharging now and erupting in the future.
Hon said those kinds of small eruptions can happen for years as the volcano fills up.
“Magma continues to enter Kilauea at a steady rate and therefore fills the interior of the volcano. . . or it rises to the surface,” he said.
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