Kilauea eruptions

Kilauea caldera. Source http://thewanderingscot.com/photos/2008%20Hawaii/

Two VC readers, mjf and Turtlebirdman, contributed lists of historical and slightly pre-historical eruptions of Kilauea. They are worth putting into a post and that is what we have done. We assumed that the second list made use of the first, and used that.

It is worth pointing out that an eruption is a failed intrusion. It appears that the lower east rift zone (LERZ) erupts in part from previously stored magma. The storage is replenished during intrusions. These may lead to eruptions but at other times they do not, or there may be a very small eruption. When something triggers a full-blown eruption, it lives off the magma supplied by the previous intrusions. The summit works a bit different, as it has a more or less continuous magma supply. Where the magma erupts depends on which plumbing is open. If there is an easy (low stress) route to the east rift zone, the magma tends to go there and summit eruptions are rare. If there is a blockage, magma collects under the summit and eruptions can be at or near the summit. And for variation, it may erupt on the southwest rift zone.

From https://pubs.usgs.gov/imap/2524a/report.pdf. Click on image for full resolution

The reason that the east rift zone is prolific is the slumping of the island. The south side of the island slowly slides towards the ocean. This is needed because the lava is added to the slopes of Mauna Loa and that can’t go on forever. The slumping has formed a fault along the south side of the island, and the magma has found that this line of weakness allow for easy travel. The only reason there are any summit eruption is that Kilauea is not directly on this line: it is further north. The magma has to travel along the B-road before reaching the motorway of the rift. Over the past 35 years, this route have been completely open. But now that Kilauea has drained so much, there may not be enough pressure left for this, in which case it is possible (but not certain) that another era of summit eruptions will begin.

Summit eruptions can be either explosive, or effusive. It goes in phases. When the caldera is deep, explosions dominate. When the magma level is high, lava flows effusively, going everywhere. Rift eruptions are mainly effusive.

The current caldera formed just before 1500 AD, after a major long-lasting eruption drained the magma chamber. There was a different caldera before. But at other times, there was no caldera, just a massive shield. Kilauea shows us a different face every few hundred years. We haven’t seen all its faces yet.

The historical record begins in 1790. For older eruptions, we are dependent on dating of the various lava flows. The older the flow, the less complete our knowledge is. And where flows are buried underneath younger flows, we will know very little about the volume of the eruption.

Lava flows around the summit. Source: HVO

And now we are passing the word to Turtlebirdman.

Here is a timeline of large events at kilauea that postdate the caldera, that I am aware of. There are probably more. Obviously there are lots of intrusions we will never know about.

~1500 – caldera forms, 300 years of dominantly pyroclastic eruptions at the summit ending in ~1810.

~1500s – small lava shield eruption near current location of 1955 upper vents, vent buried by heiheiahulu. Probably similar to mauna ulu or kupaianaha.

~1550? – large eruption very close to pu’u kaliu, covers it with tephra and probably why it looks weird compared to the other cones (no crater, etc)

~1650- pu’u honuaula forms, big eruption, probably similar to current eruption.

~1650-1700 – kapoho crater forms, overlying some of the lava from pu’u honuaula. Not sure if there are any lava flows associated with it that still exist.

1750 – heiheiahulu eruption, lava shield similar to pu’u o’o, probably long lived over 10 years. Most likely the biggest post-caldera flank eruption before pu’u o’o.

1790 – eruption on the lower east rift. possibly two parallel dikes with associated double eruption. Probably similar in size to the current eruption.

1790 – largest eruption in the keanakako’i tephra series. VEI4 plinian steam driven eruption with pyroclastic flows that killed 300+ people who were near the caldera.

~1790-1810 – series of further large eruptions that produced lava fountains in excess of 1 km high, depositing tephra outside the caldera to the southwest. Golden pumice and east pumice.

1820 – summit

1823 – very fast eruption on the southwest rift that led to the caldera draining out and formation of a large lava flow that reached the sea. Flowed over a village and likely all its inhabitants. This eruption was probably similar to the 1977 eruption of nyiragongo.

1823-1896 – near continuous activity on the caldera floor.

1832 – small eruption on the caldera edge near kilauea iki, large intrusion into the lower east rift that ends without eruption.

1840 – very active in the caldera, then everything drains out down the still molten 1832 dike and erupts at various places on the east rift down to nanawale estates. Kilaueas biggest historical eruption before 1969. Drains out the magma system at a deep level and stops the rapid supply rate started in the 1700s.

1868 – small eruptions in kilauea iki and on the southwest rift, possible unconfirmed small eruption on the east rift. Probably intrusion into east rift. Result of the 1868 earthquake.

1877 – eruption on caldera wall between kilauea iki and keanakako’i craters. Mostly buried now.

1884 – brief eruption off coast of cape kumukahi.

1894 – overflows from halemaumau lava lake.

1912 – HVO was built.

1916 – activity returns to halemaumau after relatively infrequent activity in the preceding decade.

1918 – shallow eruption on the caldera floor in an area called ‘postal rift’. Since been buried by later flows.

1919 – overflows of halemaumau covering most of the caldera.

1919-1920 – mauna iki eruption on southwest rift. Fed at shallow depth to halemaumau and erupted quietly and mostly slowly.

1921 – halemaumau overflows again but not as extensively as in 1919. Some flows escape the caldera through a gap to the south.

1922 eruption on the east rift in makaopuhi and napau.

1923 eruption on east rift in makaopuhi and napau and downrift where pu’u o’o is now.

1924 – lava lake drains out deep and crater starts collapsing.

1924 – deep intrusion to lower east rift and puna ridge with failed eruption.

1924 – explosive eruptions at halemaumau that increase its diameter to twice what it was before. Probably driven by build up of pressure under collapsed material, vulcanian activity. One person killed by falling rock on May 18.

1924 – small eruptions at the bottom of halemaumau, lasts only a few days.

1927 – another eruption in halemaumau, lasts a few days.

1930 -summit

1933/34 – slightly bigger eruption – lasts a few weeks. Kilauea goes dormant after this for 18 years.

1940s – several intrusions into the upper east rift.

1950 – deep earthquakes indicate much more magma, and intrusion into the east rift to past napau.

1952 – very big eruption at halemaumau, lava fountains taller than the crater and forms a lava lake nearly 200 meters deep and fills halemaumau half way.

1954 – small eruption in halemaumau and caldera towards kilauea iki.

1955 – large east rift eruption over the whole of the lower rift zone, lasts 3 months. First large east rift eruption since 1840.

1959 – very big eruption in kilauea iki, fills it half way with a lava lake up to 150 meters deep, lava fountains up to about 600 meters high and extensive tephra fallout to the south. Probably similar to the eruptions in the earl 19th century. Forms pu’u puai cinder cone.

1960 – eruption at the end of the 1955 vents, builds a large cinder cone with lava fountains 500 meters high. Lava buries Kapoho and Koae villages, and almost buries cape kumukahi lighthouse. Significant summit deflation of 1.6 meters at HVO, and collapses at halemaumau. Forms ‘kapoho cinder pit’.

1961 – very small eruption in halemaumau, lasts 8 hours.

1961 – much longer eruption in halemaumau lasting 2 weeks

1961 – another brief eruption lasting a few days.

1961 – east rift eruption, brief event lasting 4 days. Vents between kane nui o hamo and heiheiahulu.

1962 – small eruption near napau and makaopuhi.

1963 – small eruption near napau and makaopuhi. Lava lake in alae crater.

1963 – small eruption near napau and makaopuhi.

1965 – larger eruption in makaopuhi and some lava further east. Forms a lava lake in mahaopuhi.

1965 – brief eruption near napau and makaopuhi.

1967-1968 – very large eruption in halemaumau, initial lava lake gets to within 20 meters of the edge before it stops and drains. Resumes but at a lower level and makes a perched lava pond that erupts many times over the next 8 months.

1968 – eruption at makaopuhi and napau.

1968 – eruption between hi’iaka crater and kane nui o hamo. Brief eruption lasting one day with very small lava flows. Significant south flank disturbance indicating large intrusion.

1969 – eruption between pauahi crater and kane nui o hamo.

1969-1971 – mauna ulu forms. Continuous eruption. lava fountains up to 550 meters high. Fills alae and aloi craters. Lava flows to the ocean.

1971 – eruption from vents through halemaumau and towards kilauea iki, as well as the southwest rift down to past mauna iki.

1971 – eruption on the caldera fault between kilauea iki and keanakako’i craters.

1972 1974 – lava erupts at mauna ulu again after 9 months. eruptions build the lava shield up and reach the ocean again.

1973 eruptions at pauahi and hi’iaka craters, alligned with the koae faults. fissures open up to the north of mauna ulu but erupt briefly.

1974 eruptions near keanakako’i and to the east, as well as in the caldera near the 1971 vents. still liquid lava from 1968 drains out of halemaumau causing it to collapse. Lava flows on upper east rift. Mauna ulu ends at this time.

1974 – brief but very fast eruption on the southwest rift zone. Lava flows 13 km in 10 hours before the eruption stops. Seismic activity suggests there was a large intrusion towards the southwest up to the kamakaia hills.

1975 – tiny eruption north east of halemaumau following the 7.2 earthquake on the south flank. Lasts only a few hours. Nearly continuous slow intrusion into the east rift over the next 7 years.

1977 – eruption near kalalua cone in the middle east rift. Mostly small but the last 2 days were much bigger and included 300 meter lava fountains and a 12 km long lava flow that almost reached Kalapana. Formed pu’u kiai.

1979 – eruption in and near pauahi crater. Large intrusion associated with the eruption.

1980 – very tiny eruption near mauna ulu. large intrusion into middle east rift.

1980-1982 – many intrusions into upper east and southwest rifts.

1982 – eruption in halemaumau and the caldera towards kilauea iki. Visible for 1 day but continued at a very low level for about another week.

1982 – eruption on caldera fault between the 1974 vents. lasted just over 1 day.

1983 – 1986 – pu’u o’o forms. 48 episodes of high lava fountains build a 250 meter high cinder cone. Lava flows up to 14 km long but no ocean entry.

1986-1992 – kupaianaha shield forms 3 km downrift of pu’u o’o. no fountaining but forms a lava lake and a lava shield the same size as mauna ulu but not as tall. Lava flows to the sea many times, destroys Kalapana in 1990. Lava in pu’u o’o but not erupting.

1991 – eruption between kupaianaha and pu’u o’o, lava flows into royal gardens subdivision. Kupaianaha continues erupting but at much reduced level and dies in 1992.

1992-1997 – fissures on the west side of pu’u o’o, lava buries most of the west side of the cone in a new shield. Lava flow to the ocean many times.

1997 – eruption between pu’u o’o and napau. Lasts just under a day and includes major collapses of pu’u o’o cone.

1997-2007 – eruption at pu’u o’o on the west side again, with lava flows to the sea almost continuously from several different vents.

2007 – tiny eruption on the north side of kane nui o hamo. Large intrusion associated with this eruption. Pu’u o’o collapses again, no eruptions for a month.

2007-2011 – pu’u o’o refills and lava breaks out between it and kupaianaha again. Eruption for 4 years with lava burying most of kupaianaha and flowing into kalapana again.

2008 – pit appears in halemaumau and lava erupts in it. Large lava lake for the next 10 years.

2011 – eruption between napau and pu’u o’o. Lasts 4 days and lava flows south of the rift. Pu’u o’o collapses again.

2011 – pu’u o’o refills with a lava lake and then breaks out with a very large fast flow to the southwest. Eruption doesnt sustain and stops for 2 weeks.

2011-2018 – pu’u o’o refills and lava erupts on the east flank. Lava flows to the ocean less frequently and flows as far as pahoa 25 km away.

2015 – eruption in halemaumau. lava overflows the pit.

2018 – larger eruption at halemaumau, lava covers most of the crater floor.

2018 – very large eruption on lower east rift inside Leilani estates and Lanipuna subdivision. Lava flows to the ocean several times. Large cinder cone formed that has yet to be named, flows from this cone destroy Kapoho 13 km away and enter the ocean. Biggest lower rift eruption since 1840. Still ongoing.

An artist’ view of the summit and the rift zone, from Kilauea to Kapoho, following the ridge line of this Galapagos iguana

And more from Turtlebirdman

I have some more info on some earlier eruptions, stuff that predates the caldera. Obviously there would have been way more eruptions but kilauea is largely a mystery before 1000 years ago so there isn’t much left…

A lot of this is based on my interpretation so it probably isn’t as accurate.

Last ice age, 25,000 – 15,000 years ago, pahala ash series. possibly over 10,000 years of dominantly explosive eruptions, including some possible ignimbrite formation based on the appearance of the formation. Likely to be several eruptions in the VEI 5 range and probably a large caldera. Ash today exposed in sea cliffs on kilaueas south flank, as well as on the southeast flank of mauna loa. Eruptions reached the south coast.

7000-2000 years ago – most of the puna ridge surface dates from this time, few flows younger than this and none that are really recent were observed. Probably why the puna ridge is very deep even close to the lower east rift, eruptions seem to be infrequent there possibly indicating some change in kilauea in the last 2000 years that prevents intrusions from getting past kapoho easily.

~100 BCE-1000 AD – Powers caldera and uwekahuna tephra series. Lava flows are rare in the summit area. Relatively low eruption rate but very big eruptions spread out. Most of the summit area covered by pyroclastic flow and surge deposits.

270 BCE – Kipuka nene lava flows. large lava flow field over 1 km3 in volume and possibly a lot higher if most of it ended up in the sea. Today cut by the koae faults and one of the older surfaces still exposed on kilauea. Erupted from a vent that might have predated the powers caldera.

850 AD – Large explosive eruption simultaneous with a big lava flow from the summit area, possibly on a ring fault (I cant find the source to this now but I remember reading it a few years ago). Lower kulanakaoiki tephra and kipuka hornet lava flow?

900 AD – Plinian eruption with large airfall deposit around the caldera and to the south, though only minor pyroclastic flow deposits recognised. Lava is a very primitive basalt with little to no residence time in the crust. Very high magnesium content of over 12% suggesting extremely rapid asscent from the mantle to the surface. Eruption likely at least a VEI 4. Upper kulanakaoiki tephra.

~1000 AD? – Kalalua cone forms in the middle east rift. Today it is fragmented and partly buried by the pu’u o’o eruptions, but it was likely a significant eruption when it was new based on how much survives today. It might have been a lava shield like mauna ulu. Age is a very rough estimate.

~1000 AD – lava starts erupting in the caldera again. Probably not very different from the historical period.

1200 – 1350 AD – lava overflows the caldera and constructs the observatory shield. Lava flows mostly to the southwest but some goes south and probably also east and north east. Very likely not a continuous flow, but rather periodic breakouts from flank vents that sent robust lava flows down the slopes at a relatively high effusion rate but for a relatively short amount of time. Remains active up to 1500 but mostly stops overflowing before 1400.

~ 1250-1300 – Kane nui o hamo eruption. The biggest lava shield on the east rift before pu’u o’o formed. Likely at least 2 km3 in volume, and lava flows extend from hilina pali to Kalapana along the coast. This eruption probably lasted decades like pu’u o’o, and likely formed in the same manner.

~1300 – pu’u kaliu eruption on the lower east rift near Leilani estates. Lava flows to the south and possibly east. Large cinder cone forms that is still a high point today. Possibly formed after the conduit to kane nui o hamo ruptured and a dike went to the lower rift, similar to the current eruption now, this is theoretical though.

~1300 – Puulena, kahuaki, pawai craters form slightly east of Leilani estates. Eruptions are mostly magmatic but ended with violent explosions that made the existing craters. The lava from these craters has been covered by lava from 1790 and 2018. Most likely syn-eruptive with pu’u kaliu.

1400-1500 – The aila’au eruptions happen from fissures to the north east of the observatory vent, where kilauea iki is now. The eruptions are vigorous and produce large lava flows that reach the ocean on the north coast as far as 45 km away, fed by extensive large tube systems at a fairly high eruption rate of at least 15 m3/s over an extended period of time. The first stage included lava fountains and cinder cone formation, although eventually all of this was buried by more effusive activity that created a large shield like the observatory vent before it, and which is still largely intact. These flows covered much older ground that was fertile and populated, and are recorded in a chant along with the caldera formation.
Activity ends just before the modern caldera forms, though is not the cause of said collapse. Only eruption currently exposed that is bigger than pu’u o’o.

~1500 – observatory shield collapses and some pit craters form on the east rift and on aila’au shield. Return to violent eruptive activity with extensive pyroclastic fallout to the southwest.

320 thoughts on “Kilauea eruptions

  1. Several overflows/break-outs of the Leilani lava river. Luckily in a direction already covered in lava.

    • Now THAT is the sort of thing I meant when I talked about roasted tourists if someone were stupid enough to set up a viewing platform. This eruption is vastly more dangerous than the Pu’u O’o one ever was and the lava channel overflowing shows exactly why those gubernatorial candidates need to get their priorities straight and stop talking about irrelevancies and platitudes.

      • Irrelevancies and platitudes are the core function of politicians. Their only purpose in life is to get votes.

  2. Shallower this time
    M 5.3 Volcanic Eruption – 4km WSW of Volcano, Hawaii
    2018-06-27 08:40:40 UTC 0.6 km depth

    Credits USGS

  3. It looks like something has happened to the lava river. There are now several overflows and it seems on the webcam that the far side of the river may also be affected – that would be into what remains of Leilani. Either an increase in flow rate, overtopping the levees, or perhaps a blockage downstream.

    • The eruption might be fluctuating now as a prelude to stopping. This happened after a few other eruptions too, I think the tallest fountain in 1960 might have been during this period. Basically the eruption might become like a lava geyser, either really high fountains or nothing, compared to before when it would be sort of the same all the time.

      • A geyser is most likely in a new vent (i.e. smaller hole) and this could easily happen when the main flow changes. The eruption may be approaching its end phase: it seemed to me that the flow rate was slightly less than before, but that may have been illusionary. The cameras are quite dramatic at the moment, as if the lava river has disintegrated. But there have been overflows before which did not change much: night time views can look worse than they are. Worth keeping a close eye on though.

        My biggest worry is the new flow at the back, on the right hand side.

        • Well 100 m³/s cant be sustained forever… Im actually surprised it has lasted as long as it did with that sort of rate, 4 weeks now. If you take the lower end of their volume per day estimate then the amount of lava erupted only from fissure 8 is 168 million m3, which is as big as the biggest estimates for the volume of 1960. If you use the highest measurement (9 million m³/day) then the eruption is 250 million m³, or 0.25 km³, which is bigger than 1840 and only a bit smaller than mauna loa in 1984… In both cases that is just from fissure 8 in the last month.

          Despite all of that though even the eruptive activity on kilauea pales in comparison to this:

          This is what happens when you give an otherwise normal island volcano the ability to do Icelandic scale effusive eruptions…

          • 300 meter high curtains of fire speak for themselves…

          • “[appears] that this fracture network is very long, maybe several kilometers, probably more than 8 km in total! It looks like the whole northern flank is literally ripped open and magma is leaking from the northeast to the north-west down the slope.

            Via Gurgle Translate

            https://youtu.be/900HsMcFpcA

          • From what I have read about it, sierra negra can erupt in 3 main ways. The first is an eruption within the caldera like 2005, these are usually (relatively) small. The second is an eruption from a circumcaldera fault but outside the caldera itself. The third is a radial eruption. The 1979 eruption was sort of a combination of the 2nd and 3rd, and when you consider it was about 1 km3 in 2 months that means the 1979 eruption was very comparable to holuhraun in size and much bigger than any historical eruption at mauna loa or kilauea except pu’u o’o.
            Some sources are saying this eruption now is bigger than 1979…

            This is a seriously underrated volcano.

  4. New update not on youtube yet

    Ikaika Marzo was live.
    7 hours ago ·
    6/26/18 Lava Eruption Update with Philip Ong,John Stallman, Mileka Lincoln and myself.

    https://www.facebook.com/ikaika.marzo/videos/1856979174354610/?type=3&theater

    They quote USGS/HVO Deputy Chief Scientist Steve Brantley as saying they see no signs that this is coming to an end soon. That towards the end from an on the record interview which will be made available online soon.

    https://www.facebook.com/ikaika.marzo/videos/1856979174354610/?type=3&theater

    Plays fine for me not logged into Facebook but may not for all access methods.

  5. This is about 2.5 hours after your photo (hope this posts correctly).

    Is this a significant change in behavior, or just reflections from more clouds?

    • Dang, the photo updates. The time I was looking at was around 4:20 AM.

    • It has retreated back into the channel, although the far side kept looking a bit ragged and the night’s overflows are still visible. Otherwise, the ‘New Normal’ behaviour has resumed. However, now that daylight has returned, some of the cloud appears to be smoke (esp. far left in the webcam).

  6. I would guess that as the summit slides on top of what is left of the magma chamber, it could increase the pressure of the magma and affect the flows at fissure 8. Not sure how you could measure it.

    Mac

    • ‘What is left of the magma chamber’ is about 95% of it, the magma chamber is at least a couple of km3, I don’t think it has ever completely drained before and it is nowhere near it now.
      The summit has deflated because the thing that has happened is a loss of pressure, and this is causing the collapse because rock isn’t very strong on those sorts of scales.

  7. The “Electronic Tilt at Kīlauea East Rift Zone – Past 2 Days” chart is showing what might be inflation or deflation events. Sometimes tilting down faster and the most recent showing a little up tilt. The week chart is showing the ERZ tilt as basically flat? Only 2 days to a week of data.

    • It has been so like this past weeks. Every time there is a M5 plus at Kilauea, after some time there is a little uplift at PuuOo measured, but it is just a tiny bit (please look at the graphs scale).

      It is just like the quake causes a magma pulse through the rift. 🙂 I don’t know if such possible pulse has been noticed at the erupting fissure.

      • Tremor close to the vent rises with each collapse event at the summit and it probably has something to do with flow rate/fountaining.

      • Actually I am not sure if tremor or small earthquakes close to each other

    • The ‘uptilt’ events are regular. I am wondering whether they are caused by the tilt instrument catching the morning sun.

    • and there was outgassing verrrrrry interesting… Thanks, motsfo

    • When I saw the picture of the object I thought of clarke’s “Rama ” series…

    • Am I to understand that it continued speeding up as it was leaving? More so than what was gained from the hyperbolic orbit?

      • Not quite. It is moving a bit faster than it should, but the speed has still been declining as it left the Sun. That is because the gravity from the Sun is pulling it back. The picture looks like Rama in part because it is an artist’s impression. We know the rough shape and size but not what it looks like. The additional acceleration is tiny, and if caused bu outgassing needs a rate of evaporation of a few kilograms per second. The rate is decreasing as the thing gets further from the Sun.

        The two Pioneer spacecraft showed a similar effect but that has been explained as caused by radiation pressure.

        • I was astounded that outgassing could have that much effect. Sort of paints a rosy picture at the idea of using ablation to steer potential impactors away from collision courses.

          • Don’t expect too much. The acceleration is something like 10^-6 m/s^2.

          • I wonder what sort of radiant energy level would be needed to get that up to a useful level? I know the booster plume for an SM-2 ER can cut through paint down to bare metal in microseconds. They used an ablative coating on the deck under the launcher to keep from burning holes there.

    • I wonder if this can in any way be connected with the ‘anomalous acceleration of pioneer”

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_anomaly

      There have been a number of suggestions absolutely none of which are compelling, however it matches some non-newtonian gravity curve-fits for the galaxy rotation curves.

      Sadly this is not mentioned.

    • Any object could outgas when heated up by the sun if it contains ice or other frozen elements or compounds which evaporate when heated. For instance a planetary fragment an asteroid, containing ice.
      Saying it may be a comet covers this of course.
      It may be a random space rock and not a comet.
      It may be a cosmic conundrum unsolvable for ever.

    • Outgasing should be expexted on the surfaces facing the sun. In that case it should have slowed down on entry into the solar system..??

      • Yes, it works both ways. It also means we can’t be as confident about which direction exactly it came from.

  8. Not completely sure if this is real, but fascinating either way:

    • I’m more interested in how the sound reconstruction was achieved. Is it an upsampled seismic waveform? If so, that’s quite easy to do. I’ve done it with quakes and gotten some really strange spatial effects by using the N-S and E-W axis as left and right channels, or two nearby seismic stations. You hear what seems to be the wavefront rolling by.

  9. There are some marvelous images of yesterday’s channel overflows on the HVO site, at https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/multimedia_chronology.html

    The lava river no longer reaches the coast. It now comes to a halt where previously it bent right. It appears the lava is continuing underneath the solidified surface, in all directions, and this flow is reaching the water but also extending the flow north. The few houses in the north of Kapoho that were spared so far are now in danger. The channel may re-establish itself, it may go underground in a lava tube, or the end point may move upstream if the flow rate has become a bit less. As that famous philosopher said, those are the known unknowns.

  10. The lava channel seems to be disintegrating near the ocean now, I wonder if that is a sign of the eruption declining and the channel is unable to be maintained to the ocean?

    • The delta covers an area formally 200 foot under sea.
      Perhaps it is starting to flow tube like under the crust which protects it from solidifying, it then reappears about where the water turbulence plume is a further few hundred feet out and deeper still.

    • That bend is worrisome. It’s a prime location for the channel walls to become over-stressed and rupture/breach. The channel is the functional equivalent of a river delta. In a delta, the main stream bed is prone to meander.

  11. Let’s go out on a limb and predict that the next collapse will be in two hours time.

  12. Geomorphic expression of rapid Holocene silicic magma reservoir growth beneath Laguna del Maule, Chile

    “The numerical approach builds on a magma intrusion model developed to explain the current, decade-long, surface inflation at >20 cm/year.”

    http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/6/eaat1513

    The paper takes a close look at shoreline changes to infer some characteristics of the location of magma intrusion.

  13. Milky Way is rich in grease-like molecules

    Date:
    June 27, 2018
    Source:
    Royal Astronomical Society
    Summary:
    Our galaxy is rich in grease-like molecules, according to new research. Astronomers used a laboratory to manufacture material with the same properties as interstellar dust and used their results to estimate the amount of ‘space grease’ found in the Milky Way.

    Grease is the Word…

  14. Between the 1960 and 2018 Kapoho flows, it seems this house just about survives. The garden may need some work.

    • The owners will be sad to learn, but their home has been claimed by Pele as well…

      /Users/Holger/Desktop/36609926_1761143880633023_4927107531882364928_n.jpg

      • Sorry, that didn’t work.

        Here is the link where I found the picture:

  15. It is really inconvenient how there are literally no pictures of sierra negra after the first day, but I made a very rough map of the last 3 eruptions in paint over a screenshot from google earth.

    The 1979 and 2018 outlines are estimates but even with that it is clear that the current eruption is huge, it is probably the biggest eruption on earth since holuhraun ended. The lowest flank vent alone is probably at least as big as fissure 8 in output, and that is completely ignoring the 7-8 km long fissure and fountains up at the summit that have sent lava flowing about 14 km in a few hours over <10 degree slopes…

    I would estimate the amount of lava erupted already in only 3 days is probably comparable to the entire volume of kilaueas ongoing eruption, . If mauna loa did this it would be all over world news all the time for weeks and people would think hawaii is a burning wasteland.
    Given how famous the galapagos islands are and how many people apparently go there every year, the lack of pictures is really frustrating…

    I found this video of the start of the 2005 too.

    • Here is another good video of the 2005 Eruption of Sierra Negra. Showing the first days of the eruption. Lava pouring down into the caldera. The fountains was are huge the first days! very spectacular. Many photographers and journalists was on site. 2005 eruption footage is seen in many BBC documentaries about the islands etc.The flow rates the first hour of that eruption likley was above 1200 cubic meters a second.
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__YO-WY-ktU

      • As I said in another comment, sierra negra is an absolute monster of a volcano, probably the most underrated volcano on earth.
        Its eruptions are more like Icelandic flood basalts than the sort of thing you expect on an oceanic shield volcano. Its 1979 eruption was over 1 km3, or 70% the size of holuhraun but erupted in 1/5 the time, and its current eruption is possibly even bigger although with no pictures that is hard to confirm. None of the historical eruptions in hawaii even come close, mauna loa in 1950 is left in the dust.

        • I think… Hawaii is a much hotter and larger hotspot than Iceland.
          Thats how Hawaiis giant volcanoes grows so large so fast.
          And how these islands can build large from the deepest abyssal ocean plain on earth. Hawaiis inner Plume head is estimated to be 600 kilometers wide and 1100 km wide plume swell and having a temperature above 1510 C

        • Iceland.. is larger than Hawaii .. beacuse the seas are more shallow.
          The shallow mid ocean ridge allows Icelands hotspot to lift up more land from the sea. Ridge and Hotspot combination is an excellent way to grow a large island.

          Icelands hotspot.. seems rather cool and “wet- volatile” magmas compared to Hawaiis hot dry plume. Still Holhuraun that came from Icelands hotspot was very very hot 1185 C and fluid.

        • Intresting topic : )
          Both Icelands hotspot and the Hawaiian one are very powerful.
          The 2 most powerful oceanic plumes on this planet.

          Whats your own opinion? what plume is most powerful?
          Iceland or hawaii?… I knows Icelands hotspot haves a boost with the mar ridge

          But I say Hawaiii

          • It is probably best to re-enter these comments on the current post.

      • Still going strong, I believe. Don’t forget that in some ways she is a refugee herself, having grown up in the DDR. A survivor.

  16. This is the 2 th Galapagos eruption this year
    3 eruptions soo far in less than 345 days.
    Likely a pulse from the hotspot.
    The eruptions are of course completely normal. First major action since 2009 at La Cumbre and 2005 at Sierra Negra

  17. well 2 month into the eruption, no onr id dure about it and they are all learning a lot, Madam Pele has them scratching their collective heads.

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