Posted on 10/16/2002, 3:27:46 PM by cogitator
Mauna Loa Could be Headed for Eruption
MAUNA LOA, Hawaii, October 15, 2002 (ENS) - Mauna Loa, Hawaii's biggest volcano, is showing signs of life again almost two decades after its last eruption.
Recent geophysical data collected on the surface of the 13,500 foot volcano revealed that Mauna Loa's summit caldera has begun to swell and stretch at a rate of two to 2.5 inches a year, say scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Stanford University. Surface inflation can be a precursor of a volcanic eruption, the scientists warn.
"Inflation means that magma is accumulating below the surface, but at this point we don't have the kinds of sophisticated models that would be required to tell us if or when an eruption will occur," said Paul Segall, a professor of geophysics at Stanford who has collaborated with USGS volcanologists in Hawaii since 1990.
Lava pours from Mauna Loa in March 1984. (Photo by R.W. Decker, courtesy USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory)
Located on the Big Island of Hawaii, Mauna Loa is the largest volcano in the world. Its last eruption occurred in spring 1984 - a three week event that produced fast moving lava flows that came within four miles of the city of Hilo. The volcano has remained silent for the past 18 years, in contrast to its neighbor, Kilauea, which has been erupting non-stop since January 1983.
"After the 1984 eruption, Mauna Loa went through nearly a decade of inflation, followed by almost 10 years of deflation," said Peter Cervelli, a geophysicist with the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO).
But around May 12, HVO's global positioning system (GPS) network revealed that the summit had begun to rise and swell. May 12 was the same day that Kilauea's most recent active lava flow began - a discovery that scientists say is not coincidental.
"This clearly indicates that there is a connection between the two magma systems," Segall noted. "That's the great thing about Hawaii: It's so incredibly active that just about every year we learn something new."
Four new GPS stations have now been installed on Mauna Loa to help scientists get an early warning of any increase in the volcano's activity. Each station can cost up to $20,000 to install.
"We are holding four more Stanford instruments in reserve to be deployed as conditions warrant," Cervelli explained. "We see this as an opportunity to watch the volcano evolve through an entire eruptive period - from early awakening to actual eruption. If the recent activity does culminate in an eruption, this will be the first time that a Mauna Loa eruption is imaged with precise clarity."
If the volcano does erupt, it could threaten the $2.3 billion in new construction installed along Mauna Loa's slopes since the 1984 eruption. The volcano is considered more of a hazard than Kilauea because of its history of producing massive, fast moving eruptions.
For more information, visit the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory at: http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/
Bulldozers work just as well, as long as there isn't too much lava to divert. Still, it has to be really MAJOR Mauna Loa eruption to threaten Hilo.
I wonder how would an eruption affect that?
I'll take that comment with a grain of basalt.
That's awfully magmanimous of you.
Hawaiians will just go with the flow on this one.
That happened to me the first year after I quit smoking.
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