Aerial Survey of River of Lava as it Flows Down Valley in Hawaii
Footage from an Hawaii Army National Guard survey of the Kilauea eruption. Starting with fissure eight, that has developed a sizable cone around it and is sending channelized lava down to Kapoho. The lava river is at this time well over 100 foot across a moves quickly. (U.S. AIR National Guard video by Tech. Sgt Andrew Jackson) Source: USDOD
Earlier this week, USGS did a flyover:
A helicopter overflight video of the lower East Rift Zone on June 14, 2018, around 6:00 AM, shows lava fountaining at fissure 8 feeding channelized lava flows that flow into the ocean. Lava is still flowing out of fissure 8 unabated and the channel is full. At the start of the video, standing waves in the lava channel can be seen near the vent exit.
The channel appears crust-free from vent to the bend around Kapoho Crater. A surface crust forms over the channel as it spreads out during its approach to the ocean. The overflight along the ocean entry is from north to south along the coastline. The ocean entry is active along the whole length – approximately 1 mile. Small litoral explosions are occurring and there are several plumes of laze.
The geomagnetic storm caused a sudden increase in seismic activity. Another earthquake above 5 Richter in the area of the Kilauea volcano.
Oh come on ren, “caused”? You should be debunking your own preconceptions or assumptions before it goes that far.
Removing the human element, it’s interesting to see in real time the processes that allow Hawaii to exist. With the movement of the Pacific plate, the Hawaiian hot spot does too! As the Big Island grows, the little ones towards the end of the chain are consumed by the sea.
20:50 of the first video shows you all that is left of the Kapoho Beach Lots community. 2 houses.
The older USGS maps show the roads. Here’s May 20th, when fissure 18 wasn’t very active and other flows were reached the sea but nowhere near Kapoho:
Then things consolidated around fissure 18 and the lava flow took the left fork around the rift zone and Kapoho was flooded in just a couple days.
Here’s a decent summary of the activity from summit to ocean, April to June.
https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.htm?id=2BAB933C-1DD8-B71B-0B382F87B9E61717
I’m a big fan of WUWT, and often post to amplify good points made, and/or warn Nervous Nellies away from doomsday scenarios stoked by short-term perspectives.
I have just one quibble this time, with the headline ending, “massive devastation.” Lava flows build land. The Hawaiian archipelago wouldn’t be there, but for volcanic eruptions; nor would the eastern Caribbean islands, nor the Cascade Mountains in the Pacific Northwest, nor much of Sicily & Italy, nor many of the most fertile soils on earth.
It’s more a question of timing, and how soil later develops and gets colonized, whether a volcano is “devastating” or not. I wouldn’t prefer a world without the Isles of the Caribbees, nor Costa Rican bananas, nor the lofty heights of Mt. Shasta and Mt. Rainier. But I wouldn’t have wanted to live in Pompeii in August 79, if I’d known what was to come.
800+ homes destroyed is fairly devastating…
It’s Rural Renewal
Another change I did not see mentioned here is what is happening to the summit of Kilauea.
“This animated GIF..Agenzia Spaziale Italiana CosmoSkyMed satellite system. The images illustrate changes to the caldera area of Kīlauea Volcano that occurred between May 5 and June 18 at about 6:00 a.m. HST. The satellite transmits a radar signal at the surface and measures the strength of the return, with bright areas indicating a strong return and dark areas a weak return. Strong returns indicate rough surfaces or slopes that point back at the radar, while weak returns come from smooth surfaces or slopes angled away from the radar. Over time, expansion of the summit eruptive vent within Halema‘uma‘u crater and the widening of Halema‘uma‘u itself are clear. The last five images in the sequence, from May 29-June 18, show the development of several cracks outside Halema‘uma‘u (also seen in recent UAS footage of the crater) and inward slumping of a large portion of the western, southwestern, and northern crater rim. Much of this motion appears to be coincident with the small explosions from the summit that have taken place on a near daily basis over the past 3 weeks. We expect this slumping to continue as long as the explosions and overall subsidence persist.”
Mac