Mauna Loa Volcano In Hawaii Erupts For the First Time In Nearly 40 Years 22
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The New York Times: The world's largest active volcano, Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawaii, erupted for the first time in 38 years late Sunday night, following a series of spectacular eruptions of the smaller Kilauea volcano, also on the island, over the last five years. At 11:30 p.m. local time, an eruption began at Mauna Loa's summit, inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Lava flowing from the volcano was confined to the summit area, and officials said there was no immediate threat to the public, but they warned that winds could carry volcanic gas, fine ash and thin glass fibers known as Pele's hair downwind.
The Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency raised the volcano alert level to a warning from an advisory. Mitch Roth, the mayor of Hawaii County, which has a population of about 200,000, said in a statement on Facebook early Monday that there were no evacuation orders or threats to the community. Two shelters were opened along the South Kona coast for people who voluntarily left their homes, officials said. The location and direction of lava flow can quickly change, officials said. Residents who are at risk were advised to review their preparedness plans. Officials said they planned to conduct an aerial survey of the eruption and assess any hazards.
Mauna Loa, which encompasses more than half of the Big Island of Hawaii and rises more than 13,600 feet above the Pacific Ocean, has erupted 33 times since 1843, averaging one eruption every five years. A majority of the eruptions occurred before 1950; since then, there have been only two -- a summit eruption in 1975 and an eruption in 1984, when lava flow approached the city of Hilo. That last eruption caused volcanic air pollution across the state and prompted the authorities to close Highway 200 as lava flow destroyed utility poles and power lines. Heat released during the eruption also caused local thunderstorms and snowfall in certain regions. "While Mauna Loa has been largely dormant for 38 years, Kilauea, in the southeast corner of the Big Island, is considered one of the most active volcanoes in the world," adds the report. "A months long eruption in 2018 produced 320,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools' worth of lava that transformed the landscape around Kilauea and was blamed for the destruction of around 700 homes."
The Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency raised the volcano alert level to a warning from an advisory. Mitch Roth, the mayor of Hawaii County, which has a population of about 200,000, said in a statement on Facebook early Monday that there were no evacuation orders or threats to the community. Two shelters were opened along the South Kona coast for people who voluntarily left their homes, officials said. The location and direction of lava flow can quickly change, officials said. Residents who are at risk were advised to review their preparedness plans. Officials said they planned to conduct an aerial survey of the eruption and assess any hazards.
Mauna Loa, which encompasses more than half of the Big Island of Hawaii and rises more than 13,600 feet above the Pacific Ocean, has erupted 33 times since 1843, averaging one eruption every five years. A majority of the eruptions occurred before 1950; since then, there have been only two -- a summit eruption in 1975 and an eruption in 1984, when lava flow approached the city of Hilo. That last eruption caused volcanic air pollution across the state and prompted the authorities to close Highway 200 as lava flow destroyed utility poles and power lines. Heat released during the eruption also caused local thunderstorms and snowfall in certain regions. "While Mauna Loa has been largely dormant for 38 years, Kilauea, in the southeast corner of the Big Island, is considered one of the most active volcanoes in the world," adds the report. "A months long eruption in 2018 produced 320,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools' worth of lava that transformed the landscape around Kilauea and was blamed for the destruction of around 700 homes."
I knew something bad had happened (Score:3)
I felt a great disturbance in the force... as if millions of Macadamia Nuts cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.
Re: (Score:2)
I think it was the pineapples you were hearing.
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That would suck; they only bear fruit every two years! Think of the pineapple!
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I think it was the pineapples you were hearing.
I thought pineapple was mostly grown on Lanai (yes, I know about the Dole museum in Waiawa, Oahu). Pineapple likes sandy soil. Macadamia nuts (originally from Australia!), coffee, and chocolate are cultivated on the Kona side of the Big Island.
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I always liked the crispy ones anyhow
Quick, appease the angry gods! (Score:4, Funny)
Throw in a virgin! (besides me, of course)
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Measuring the destructive power of a volcano. (Score:4, Funny)
TIL that the destructive power of a volcano is expressed in Olympic Swimming Pools Of Lava per Home Destroyed.
Kilauea has a destructive power of 457 OSPOL/HD.
Re: Measuring the destructive power of a volcano. (Score:2)
The Beach Boys have yet to sing about the delights of waking up to a bright morning of Mauna lovin
We're all doomed (Score:2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
but don't panic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
[BBC Dad's Army]
"There is no imminent thr*KABOOOOOM!!!* (Score:2)
Bend over
Stick your head between your legs
Kiss your ass goodbye!
Oh yes, and how much CO2 is THIS releasing?
Last words from the observatory (Score:2)
Originally designed to monitor certain signs that would help predict an imminent eruption, it sent a preprogrammed final message: Gentlemen, we had the technology
Re: (Score:2)
Volcanoes don't release enough CO2 to make a difference. For most eruptions, the net effect is a slight cooling due to the release of SO2 and water vapor. Only the larges eruptions affect temperatures by enough to be noticeable to humans (1815: the Year Without a Summer, Mt. Tambora eruption, 1886: Krakatoa, 1991: Pinatubo).
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Volcanoes don't release enough CO2 to make a difference. For most eruptions, the net effect is a slight cooling due to the release of SO2 and water vapor. Only the larges eruptions affect temperatures by enough to be noticeable to humans (1815: the Year Without a Summer, Mt. Tambora eruption, 1886: Krakatoa, 1991: Pinatubo).
Water vapor has a heating effect, not cooling. You are correct that volcanic ash may block some sunlight leading to cooler temperatures. Any CO2 from the volcanoes remain in the air after the ash eventually clears up.
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>Oh yes, and how much CO2 is THIS releasing?
Not enough to worry about. Humans emit roughly 60x as much geologically sourced CO2 per year as all the volcanoes on Earth combined. Most of which comes from venting without eruptions.
Minor Damage (Score:2)
This thing may take out some small villages and hippy huts.
The Big One will come when Mt Rainier erupts and Half of Seattle Metropolitan area is built on lava fields.
Wouldn't want to live there.
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Not to worry, Seattle will already have been destroyed by a substantial [washington.edu] earthquake [newyorker.com]. Having lava cover it over will just provide the opportunity to rebuild.
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This thing may take out some small villages and hippy huts. The Big One will come when Mt Rainier erupts and Half of Seattle Metropolitan area is built on lava fields. Wouldn't want to live there.
When I visited the mainland after living in Hawaii for 3 years, a friend asked my if we live in grass huts and had electricity. I'd like to remind the ./ crowd that Iolani Palace had electricity before the White House. Grass huts are limited to tourist and historic sites (I believe that even on Niihau they have wood houses now). There are still plantation houses in use. Many towns in Hawaii are considered villages because of how long ago they were. founded.
Maybe it did, maybe it didn't. (Score:2)
Who knows, because Slashdot only posts fucking paywalls.