Kilauea Volcano

SUBHEAD: USGS says earthquakes and lava fissures could last for months on the Big Island of Hawaii.

By Karin Stranton on 4 May 2018 for Reuters -
(https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hawaii-volcano/earthquakes-lava-fissures-could-last-for-months-on-hawaii-usgs-idUSKBN1I608N)


Image above: Lava advances along a street near a fissure in Leilani Estates, on Kilauea Volcano's lower East Rift Zone, Hawaii, the U.S., May 5, 2018. From original article.

More homes on Hawaii’s Big Island were destroyed on Saturday as eruptions linked to the Kilauea volcano increased, spewing lava into residential areas and forcing nearly 2,000 people to evacuate, officials said.

Scientists forecast more eruptions and more earthquakes, perhaps for months to come, after the southeast corner of the island was rocked by a 6.9 tremor on Friday, the strongest on the island since 1975.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said on Saturday that several new lava fissures had opened in the Leilani Estates subdivision of Puna District, about a dozen miles (19 km) from the volcano. Not all the fissures were still active, it added.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said at midday local time on Saturday that “eruptive activity is increasing and is expected to continue.”

Janet Babb, a spokeswoman for the observatory, said by telephone that the eruptions could carry on “for weeks or months.”

Babb said the activity since Thursday is beginning to show similarities to another event in the area in 1955 that lasted for 88 days, when far fewer people lived near the volcano.

Although no significant lava flows have yet formed, additional outbreaks of lava, which can reach temperatures of about 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit (1,150 Celsius), were expected, the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency said.

The Hawaii Fire Department reported “extremely dangerous air quality conditions due to high levels of sulfur dioxide gas in the evacuation area,” civil defense officials said on Saturday. The gas can cause skin irritations and breathing difficulties.

Ken Smith of Mountain View on the island ran errands on Friday evening on streets usually busy with pre-weekend traffic, “but the roads were totally empty,” he said by telephone. “It felt almost apocalyptic.”

Kilauea, one of the world’s most active volcanoes and one of five on the island, has been in constant eruption for 35 years. Lava flows from the volcano have covered 48 square miles (125 square km), according to the USGS.

Kilauea began spewing lava into residential areas on Thursday after a series of earthquakes over the preceding week. Starting around 11 a.m. on Friday, the island experienced a flurry of earthquakes, culminating in the massive magnitude 6.9 tremor.

No injuries or deaths were reported, but Hawaii Governor David Ige activated the Hawaii National Guard to provide emergency help.

U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii called on federal officials to send help quickly.

Gabbard, a Democrat, in a letter sent Friday, asked Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator William Long to respond to “short- and long-term housing, infrastructure, agriculture, and public health effects to Hawaii Island.”

Gabbard said more than 1,800 residents in Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens have been ordered to leave their homes since Thursday, when public works officials first reported steam and lava erupting from fissures in a road.

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Volcanoes - Hawaii & Iceland

SUBHEAD: Hawaii is fully dependent on the poorly performing tourism industry. Concluding that volcano eruptions cause health risks could ruin economy.

By Patrick Takahashi on 20 April 2010 in the Huffington Post -  
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/patrick-takahashi/volcanoes-hawaii-versus-i_b_543571.html)
 

 
Image above: Photo of Kilauea Vocano erupting with a plume of toxic gasses, including sulphur dioxide, that temporarily closed Volcano National Park. From (http://www.uclick.com/widgets/ew/080411/ew080411b.html).

On January 3, 1983 I was golfing at the Volcano Golf and Country Club on the Big Island of Hawaii, when, on our back nine, the ground shook and we saw fountains of lava. It was a Kilauea Volcano eruption that continues until today, 27 years later.

I cite this experience because Eyjafjallajokull (E), that Icelandic volcano which erupted on March 20, continued on for 14 months when last active in 1821. Worse still, every time this volcano has gone off (only three in a millennium), its much larger sister, Katla (K), has also erupted.

The combination of E and K could well be truly ominous. While air travel is beginning to return, and this current phase could end today, what will happen to Europe if this episode continues for years?
Iceland, like the islands of Hawaii, was formed by volcanoes.

In 1783, Laki (L) killed half the livestock and a quarter of the population, and in 934 Edlgja might well have had the largest basalt flow in the history of Planet Earth. Oh, there are 35 active volcanoes on Iceland.

Access Science has an excellent summary of volcano eruptions and the potential impact on humanity. Simple Solutions for Planet Earth describes various potential natural disasters, including the mega hyped Cumbre Vieja volcanic eruption said to be capable of creating a mega tsunami.

Further described is a similar scenario where a portion of the Big Island of Hawaii falls into the ocean, with the potential for generating a mega (normal amplitude max is 40 feet, while mega starts at 40 meters and could go up to 500 meters and higher) tsunami.

Located on the Big Island, Kilauea is the most active and visited volcano in the world. It is so accessible and "safe" that the Hawaii Volcano Observatory actually began doing science right on that mountain nearly a century ago. It's still there.

When the wind blows from the Big Island towards Honolulu, we become Los Angeles of 1960 when the smog was truly terrible. I have canceled golf outings when these days occur.

There is no question in my mind that lifelong exposure to the Hawaiian vog must damage lungs, much more so on the Big Island than other islands. The concrete wall structures on my roof are turning a shade of yellow (from the sulfuric acid fallout) and small black particulates are visible, which can only mean that your lungs breathe in these micro lava shards.

Okay, the situation in Iceland is different, but here in Hawaii, we have taken advantage of this potential calamity: Kilauea eruptions increase the visitor count! A few surveys have been undertaken, and the general data shows that cardiorespiratory influences can be detected, and crops have been damaged.

 This is not a particularly big deal in the media, partially, I worry, because the economy of Hawaii is fully dependent on tourism, and as poorly as the industry is currently doing, a condemning conclusion could be yet another dagger that can sink us into a local depression.

While as earlier mentioned, our eruptions, with rare exceptions, tend to mostly flow, with sulfurous gases, Icelandic ones, perhaps because of the overlying glaciers, are much more explosive, tossing a lot more particulates into the air. As a result, the bankruptcy in Iceland might well turn out to be contagious if E is joined by K (no, not Kilauea, but Katla, and sure, why not add Laki, plus Edlgja), and continues belching.

Thus, the European Union can add to the PIGS list yet another economic thorn. Worse, if prolonged, the health of citizens could be affected. So learn how to pronounce EYJAFJALLAJOKULL, for like in Hawaii, this natural disaster could well hang around for some time to come.

See also:  
Volcanic Air Pollution—A Hazard in Hawaii (http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs169-97)