Posted on 02/02/2017 3:10:54 PM PST by nickcarraway
Researchers in Hawaii have captured dramatic footage of a "firehose" of red-hot lava plummeting down a cliff into the Pacific Ocean, sending fragments of lava and clouds of gray smoke into the sky.
It's coming from the big island's Kilauea volcano, which has been erupting since January 1983.
On New Year's Day, about 21 acres of rock from the Komokuna lava delta collapsed. After that, "the exposed lava tube continued to feed a cascade of molten rock down the steep sea cliff," according to the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. That's what we're looking at now.
Follow USGS Volcanoes @USGSVolcanoes #Kilauea #Volcano #lava pours into #ocean creating #littoral #explosions that throw spatter onto #Hawaii sea cliff. https://on.doi.gov/2gZ1uaa 10:50 AM - 30 Jan 2017 1,513 1,513 Retweets 2,053 2,053 likes It goes without saying that a tube of red-hot lava is extremely dangerous. In the footage, the hot lava hitting cooler water continually explodes, sending off fragments of molten lava and volcanic glass in all directions. The USGS said last week that large bursts have sent the spatter "about twice the height of the sea cliff."
The lava stream has appeared to narrow in the past few days. National Park representatives have set up a viewing area for the stream of lava, where visitors can see it from a safe distance through binoculars or a telephoto lens.
Meanwhile, the researchers are concerned that the cliff itself continues to be unstable. They're noticing a widening crack, "making the site extremely dangerous for anyone who ventures too closely to the ocean entry by land or by sea." Researchers can actually hear grinding noises coming from the crack, and they're warning that it "could collapse at any time."
Trump making the hawaiian islands bigger already
Nothing cooler than molten rock pouring into the ocean like it’s water.
Nick,
On a family triup to the Islands in the Seventies, we took a tour down a lava tube. Very interesting!
Sounds like fun.
Bet you were a coward and only did the old empty ones. No wading in the active ones or nothing.
;-p
That mountain has some serious STDs.
It was fun! Of course the volcano wasn’t active back then. But the sulfur smell was pretty intense.
I heard a lot of good music too! Met one of my steel guitar heros, Jerry Byrd.
Maybe Hugo Chavez was nearby.
We did go into the fuming caldera. The sulfur fumes gave me a heck of a headache! Beautiful Islands! My parents had old friends who lived on Kauai. Their place is now a botanical park. Their house was stunning!
Looks more like a ribbon to me, but still pretty cool.
I was there this October. We had to hike 10 miles to get there. Four of them were over lava rock as the usual path had dangerous fumes.
My mother was convinced until the day she died that she caused the 1983 eruption that still continues by taking a volcanic rock home and angering the volcano gods.
Flew over in a helicopter, and into the cone of the vulcano the day the Japanese tsunami hit. It was red hot in the cracks. What a 24 hours! We even had an earthquake as we were getting ready to eat lunch. At supper the kitchen caught fire.
Then there were twelve miles on lava fields.
I have some absolutely gorgeous pictures of that garden. Breathtaking !
I have some absolutely gorgeous pictures of that garden. Breathtaking !
Iirc it was converted from a land dump with old cars etc into this beautiful place.
would love to see the turbulence under the water!!
“Iirc it was converted from a land dump with old cars etc into this beautiful place.
“
It could have been. I don’t know it’s history, but the house was spectacular, with huge stone slabs for the floor. Was owned by the Laucheses, not sure of the spelling. Old golf buddies of my parents.
We own property up the road in Hawaiian Paradise Park. Last time we visited the lava dumping in the ocean we drove our rental car over the black stuff to get there. No hiking for me! Lol
BTW, rapidly cooling lava is how obsidian is made.
Yellowstone NP has an area called "Obsidian Cliffs" that I've often visited. Through mineralogical analysis, they've been able to prove that obsidian from that exact location ended up being traded to locations as far away as Ohio and W Canada.
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