Vulkaan Kilauea op Hawaii

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Hawaï sluit Nationaal Park rond spuwende vulkaan Kilauea

Het vulkaan-observatorium op Hawaï heeft het Volcanoes National Park tot nader order gesloten. De risico's van de uitbarstingen van vulkaan Kilauea zijn te groot. "En het ziet er niet naar uit dat het binnenkort is afgelopen."

Experts vrezen dat de vulkaan keien zo groot als koelkasten in de lucht kan gooien. "Niemand wil bedolven worden door iets dat tien ton weegt en er met 193 km per uur uitgespuugd wordt", zegt Charles Mandeville, vulkaancoördinator op Hawaï.

"Het lijkt op dit moment misschien rustig, maar dat is het helemaal niet", aldus KNMI-vulkanoloog Elske de Zeeuw - van Dalfsen. "Ten oosten van de zone waar de lava naar buiten komt, zijn op dit moment veel aardbevingen. En er is nog een ander type meting: we zien dat de aarde uit elkaar wordt gedrukt. Dat betekent dat er daar nog veel materiaal naar boven gaat komen."

Lavameer
Wat de uitbarstingen van vulkaan Kilauea (Haïtiaans voor uitspuwen) zo bijzonder maakt, is dat de lava omhoog komt in een gebied veertig kilometer weg van de top van de vulkaan. "De vulkaan heeft behalve een krater ook twee ondergrondse armen. De magmastromen kunnen zich dus ondergronds bewegen", zegt De Zeeuw - van Dalfsen.

"In de vulkaan was een lavameer, opeengehoopt in de vulkaankrater, bijna tot aan de oppervlakte. Dus dat kon je goed zien. Dat lavameer is 290 meter gedaald. Al die lava is ondergronds verdwenen richting het oosten. En dat komt naar boven op een zwakke plek. De vraag was alleen waar."

Volgens de vulkanoloog weten mensen die er wonen wat er kan gebeuren. "Ze weten natuurlijk dat ze op een vulkaan wonen. Letterlijk. En dat wordt al op school uitgelegd. Ook alle maatregelen. Men weet het gewoon en accepteert de uitbarstingen. Maar niemand kijkt graag toe hoe zijn huis afbrandt."

Uit de vulkaan komt behalve lava ook het giftige gas zwaveldioxide, dat een sterke geur van rotte eieren verspreidt. Inwoners zijn ook daarvoor gewaarschuwd. Het is vooral schadelijk voor ouderen, kinderen en mensen met ademhalingsproblemen. Sinds de eerste uitbarstingen ruim een week geleden zijn al 36 huizen en gebouwen vernield en hebben tweeduizend mensen hun huizen verlaten.

Godin Pele
Half april ontdekten vulkanologen dat er steeds nieuwe scheuren in de berg ontstaan, waardoor er uit verschillende kraters lava stroomt die soms negentig meter de lucht in spuit. Geologen rapporteren harde knallen en dreunende geluiden. Ook zijn er regelmatig aardbevingen. "Er ontstaat een klein scheurtje en dat scheurtje breidt zich uit tot een grotere spleet en daar komt de lava door naar boven", zegt De Zeeuw - van Dalfsen.

De Kilauea is over het algemeen niet erg actief, maar spuwt al sinds 1983 lava. Deskundigen vergelijken de huidige situatie met 1955, toen de vulkaan 88 dagen lang lava spuwde en 400 hectare grond met lava bedekte. Volgens een oud volksgeloof zou de godin Pele in de berg wonen.

"Een deel van de bevolking gelooft in Pele - de godin van het vuur - en brengen ook offers om Pele te vragen de uitbarsting te stoppen en hun huis te sparen. Offers als theebladeren, die steken ze in de grond. Er worden geen kinderen geofferd hoor."

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Two new fissures opened on Hawaii's Big Island
Two new fissures opened on Hawaii's Big Island Sunday, spewing lava and fumes and forcing more residents to evacuate.

Hawaii's Civil Defense Agency announced the latest crack in the ground Sunday evening. It is the 18th fissure to open on the island in the days since the Kilauea volcano erupted on May 3.
Fissure 18 emerged near Halekamahina Loop Road -- where fissure 17 erupted early Sunday, splattering lava tens of feet into the air.

Fissure 17 is several hundred yards long.
Nearly 2,000 people have been evacuated since the volcano erupted, sending lava flowing into communities and threatening a nearby geothermal plant.

The volcanic vents, or fissures, have gobbled up dozens of homes and vehicles, with 37 structure so far destroyed.

The Hawaii Civil Defense Agency said in a Sunday message that vacation rentals in Lower Puna were directed to cease operations to relieve the demand for water as well as reduce the area population so emergency responders can focus on residents.

The Hawaii Police Department also enforced the Federal Aviation Administration's temporary flight restriction for Lower Puna. No helicopter or drone activity is allowed without approval.
Another fissure, the 16th, was reported earlier Saturday and "produced a lava flow that traveled about 250 yards before stalling," officials said.

That vent was about a mile east of the Puna Geothermal Venture plant, where officials removed 60,000 gallons of flammable liquids due to safety concerns.

In addition to the new fissures, USGS officials said an explosive eruption is possible at Halemaumau crater at the top of the Kilauea volcano. Such an eruption could generate ash plumes over an area 12 miles from the summit crater, the HOV said.

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Vrees voor nieuwe uitbarstingen vulkaan Hawaï door grote scheur

De Amerikaanse seismologische dienst USGS waarschuwt voor nieuwe uitbarstingen van de vulkaan Kilauea op Hawaï. Op zondag ontstond een nieuwe, driehonderd meter lange scheur waaruit lava stroomt. De autoriteiten hebben opdracht gegeven tot verdere evacuaties.
De uitbarsting van de twaalfhonderd meter hoge Kilauea begon ruim twee weken geleden. Sindsdien zijn meer dan tienduizend mensen geëvacueerd en zeker 26 huizen door de lavastromen verwoest.

De vulkaan is een van de meest actieve ter wereld. Het gaat om een zogenoemde schildvulkaan. Als die uitbarst, kan de lava niet alleen uit de krater stromen, maar ook via ondergrondse scheuren op andere plaatsen aan de oppervlakte komen.

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Op maandag 14 mei 2018 14:03 schreef Brighteyes het volgende:
Frutsel, ik lees vol interesse mee hoor! Ik heb er alleen niet heel veel meer over te zeggen dan 'Wauw, wat interessant' oid.

Maar blijf vooral updates posten. Ik vind het heerlijk zo allemaal bij elkaar.

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Op maandag 14 mei 2018 14:33 schreef Hyperdude het volgende:

Earthquake Animation: Kilauea 2018

Dude Takes A Dab Hit Off Lava!

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Eruption intensifies, lava continues to spread in lower rift zone

The eruption seems to pick up in activity. Activity at the most recent fissures 17 and 18, located at the northeast end of the active fissure system (downrift), has been continuous during the night.
It is characterized by "lava fountaining, explosion of spatter bombs hundreds of feet into the air, and several advancing lava flow lobes moving generally northeast from fissure 17 at the downrift (northeast) end of the new fissure system.", HVO reported a short time ago in the first morning update. "As of about 7 pm, one lobe was 2 yards thick and advancing roughly parallel to Highway 132. The flow front was just over a half mile southeast of the intersection of Highway 132 and Noni Farms Road."

No other significant changes have occurred: earthquakes continue and the summit continues to deflate, increasing the risk of explosive eruptions if ground water enters into the drained conduit of where Halema'uma's lava lake used to be.

ava continues to be erupted from the latest fissures that opened up during the past 48 hours, labeled #17 and #18, and there are signs that the eruption is still developing and might continue (and potentially increase) for a while.

Hawaii just AMAZING Lava Fissure 17

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The spattering/exploding event at fissure 17 continues… pushing the hot liquid rock another two-tenths of a mile toward the Pacific Ocean overnight. She is now nearly half way to the water. And two new fissures, numbers 19 and 20, have apparently broken out in Lani Puna Gardens… just southeast of the PGV Geothermal plant. We heard an unconfirmed report this morning that another house had been destroyed in Lani Puna Gardens. The enormous amount of lava erupted is only a couple hundred yards from Highway 132, but that lobe has apparently stalled. The rest of the flow now appears to be headed in the direction of Ahalanui Beach Park (hot pond) area, or possibly as far northeast as Vacationland and Kapoho Beach Lots.

HVO confirms fissure 20 opened

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Fissure 20 opened
A new burst of volcanic ash has been released from the Kileaua volcano today in what U.S. Geological Survey officials warn is “a phase of more continuous explosive activity.”

Rock falls and gas explosions within Halemaumau Crater caused the ash plume, the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency said in a Facebook post today.

The plume also signifies that residents of the Big Island “need to expect that it will become more explosive," Rick Hazlett of the USGS told ABC News.

Kileaua volcano in Hawaii sees new burst of volcanic ash, May 15, 2018.USGS Volcanoes
The Kileaua volcano in Hawaii sees new burst of volcanic ash, May 15, 2018.
Excessive exposure to ash can make driving difficult and can irritate the eyes and respiratory system, so officials have also urged residents to minimize their exposure to it.

This new burst of ash comes hours after the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency said a new fissure has opened up on the Big Island, bringing the total number of lava- and gas-spewing cracks to 20 in the wake of the May 3 eruption.

Officials Monday warned of "hazardous emissions of sulfur dioxide" in the Lanipuna Gardens subdivision.

The air quality there has been evaluated as a "condition red," which means the air could pose an immediate danger, the Civil Defense Agency said in a post on Monday. The gases are especially dangerous for the elderly, children, babies and people with respiratory problems, officials said.

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Hawaii Kilauea volcano could soon explode in once-in-a-century eruption

VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK, Hawaii -- The Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island has been blowing off toxic steam and releasing lava for a week. But on Thursday, there were signs it could soon explode and widen the disaster.

Geologists are warning a possible explosion at the summit of Kilauea could be the largest in nearly 100 years, hurling boulders the size of refrigerators. The heavy clouds of smoke coming from the main crater on Wednesday were likely triggered by a rock fall from the crater walls.

As the lava levels inside the volcano drain lower, the danger of an eruption can actually increase. When the molten rock reaches groundwater levels, pressurized steam can cause an explosion, shooting rocks and ash miles away from the crater.

Further down the volcano, the underground lava, oozing through cracks in the neighborhood of Leilani Estates is only about a half-mile away from a geothermal power plant. The plant has been shut down, and workers are trucking away 60,000 gallons of flammable liquids. Hawaii Gov. David Ige issued an emergency proclamation to secure the area.

"If you project the line where the fissures are occurring, the PGV facility is on that line, so we definitely want to be prepared," Ige said.

More: Growing concerns over flammable liquids stored in power plant threatened by lava
Volcanoes National Park will be closed Friday because of the threat. Scientists think conditions could be right for a major explosion within a few days. The last time that happened was in 1924 when it blasted rock and ash more than five miles into the air.

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Red Alert Declared in Hawaii, Kilauea Eruption "Imminent"

The U.S. Geological Survey has raised the alert for Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano from an orange to a red warning.

Ash eruption at the volcano’s summit increased in intensity Tuesday, with an ash cloud spewing as high as 12,000 feet above sea level, according to the USGS.

Ashfall and air pollution associated with a volcanic eruption have been reported as far as 18 miles downwind of Kilauea in Pahala.

A red warning means a “major volcanic eruption is imminent, underway or suspected with hazardous activity both on the ground and in the air,” the USGS said.

"At any time, activity may become more explosive, increasing the intensity of ash production and producing ballistic projectiles near the vent," the agency tweeted.

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No significant changes, new fissure opens
The eruption in the lower east rift zone continues with no significant changes. A new fissure has opened up probably during thge night between fissure #16 and #20 and erupted small amounts of lava with spattering during a few hours.
The so-far most productive fissure #17 continues to feed a lava flow towards the ESE, but its progress has significantly slowed down. HVO estimates that it only advanced about 100 m during the past 24 hours, making the scenario of lava reaching the coast in a near future much less likely now.

More significant events have been taking place at the summit, at the site of the former Halema'uma'u lava lake: Visually, ash emissions have increased during the past 48 hours, prompting HVO to raise the aviation color code to red. There are signs that some of the explosive activity might not only be caused by deep rockfalls / collapses inside the drained conduit, but beginning water-hot rock interaction:

Ballistic blocks of up to up to 60 cm (2 feet) across "were found in the parking lot a few hundred yards from Halemaumau. These reflect the most energetic explosions yet observed and could reflect the onset of steam-driven explosive activity. Further observations are necessary to asses this interpretation. Additional such explosions are expected and could be more powerful."

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A blue burning flame of methane gas was observed in the cracks on Kahukai Street on May 23. When lava buries plants and shrubs, methane gas is produced as a byproduct of burning vegetation. Methane gas can seep into subsurface voids and explode when heated, or as shown in the video below, emerge from cracks in the ground several feet away from the lava. When ignited, the methane produces a blue flame.

Blue burning flame of methane gas - Kilauea, Hawaii May 23, 2018

Helicopter overflights of Kilauea's fissure complex - May 22, 2018

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Kilauea’s activity proceeds without any signs of weakening

On the Big Island of Hawai’i, Kilauea’s activity proceeds without any signs of weakening. Eruption of lava and ground cracking continues in the area of Leilani Estates subdivision in the Lower East Rift zone. Monday 21 May lava was being erupted from multiple

points along the northeast end of the active fissure system. HVO/USGS reported that whilst fissures 6, 17 and 19 only showed intermittent spattering, fissure 20 was erupting a short line of low lava fountains feeding a channelized lava flow that reached the coast. By the evening of 21 May there was only a single lava ocean entry left. Over the course of Tuesday 22 May, most eruptive activity in the Lower East Rift Zone shifted to the middle portion of the system of fissures. Lava fountains were being ejected from fissures 6 through to fissure 22 and some weak spattering occurred from fissures 5, 6, 17 and 19. A new area of fountaining started in the afternoon along the fissure line between Kaupili and Mohala Streets near Fissure 23.

Magma is still being supplied to the lower East Rift Zone and elevated earthquake activity continues. However, earthquake locations have not moved farther down-rift in the past couple of days, and there were only a few earthquakes located today in the rift zone.

Explosions continue to occur from Haleama’uam’u crater in Kilauea’s summit caldera. HVO/USGS reported a first small explosion early Monday morning 21 May at 12:55, producing an ash plume that reached about 2135 m (7000 ft) and which was carried by the wind to the southwest. Several smaller explosions took place throughout Monday 21 and Tuesday 22 May, all ejecting ash to under 3050 m (10,000 ft) above sea level. Additional explosions are possible at any time. Seismic activity on Kilauea’s summit which had abruptly decreased after the recent explosive eruptions, is again slowly increasing.