Scientists say eruption of Hawaii volcano continues to ease

DECEMBER 12, 2022:

HONOLULU (AP) — Scientists say the eruption of the Mauna Loa volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island continues to ease. The announcement on Sunday (Dec. 11, 2022) reinforced an earlier pronouncement that the mountain’s first flare-up in nearly 40 years might soon end. Ken Hon is the scientist in charge of the U.S. Geological Survey at the Hawaii Volcano Observatory. Hon says Mauna Loa’s eruption appears to be ramping down and that nearby Kilauea has now reached a “full pause.” Its lava lake is stagnant and crusted over. Mauna Loa began spewing molten rock Nov. 27, 2022, after being quiet for 38 years.

DECEMBER 11, 2022:

HONOLULU (AP) — Scientists have lowered the alert level for the Mauna Loa volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island and say its first eruption in nearly 40 years may soon end. The U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory says in a Saturday (Dec. 10, 2022) bulletin that the eruption on the mountain’s northeast rift zone is continuing, but lava output and volcanic gas emissions are “greatly reduced.” The observatory says further that high eruption rates are not expected to resume, and “current behavior suggests that the eruption may end soon.” It’s still monitoring the mountain closely, however. Meanwhile a lava flow front has “stagnated” nearly 2 miles from a vital cross-island artery. Mauna Loa began spewing Nov. 27, 2022, after being quiet for 38 years.

DECEMBER 3, 2022:

HILO, Hawaii (AP) — Many people on the Big Island of Hawaii are bracing for major upheaval if lava from Mauna Loa volcano blocks the quickest route connecting two sides of the island. The molten rock could make the road impassable and force drivers to find alternate coastal routes in the north and south. That could add hours to commute times, doctor’s visits and freight truck deliveries. The lava is oozing slowly at a rate that could reach the road next week. But its path is unpredictable and could change course, or the flow could stop completely and spare the highway.

DECEMBER 2, 2022:

HILO, Hawaii (AP) — The spectacle of incandescent lava spewing from Hawaii’s Mauna Loa has drawn thousands of visitors and is turning into a tourism boon for a Big Island town near the world’s largest volcano. Some hotels in and around Hilo are becoming fully booked in what is normally a slower time of the year for business. Helicopter tours of Mauna Loa, which began erupting Sunday (Nov. 27, 2022) after being quiet for 38 years, are also in high demand by tourists and journalists. Hawaii’s travel industry normally falls off this time of year between the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

NOVEMBER 30, 2022:

UNDATED (AP)- The eruption of Hawaii’s Mauna Loa volcano has temporarily knocked off power to the world’s premier station that measures heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. But officials say Wednesday (Nov. 30, 2022) it won’t be a problem. There are hundreds of other carbon dioxide monitoring sites across the globe. The federal government is looking for a temporary alternate site on the Hawaiian island. And officials are contemplating flying a generator to the Mauna Loa observatory to get its power back so it can take measurements again. The Hawaiian station goes back to 1958 making the famous Keeling Curve that shows rising carbon dioxide levels from burning of coal, oil and natural gas.

Extended version:

There are hundreds of other carbon dioxide monitoring sites across the globe. The federal government is looking for a temporary alternate site on the Hawaiian island and is contemplating flying a generator to the Mauna Loa observatory to get its power back so it can take measurements again, said officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Global Monitoring Lab in Colorado that operates the station.

The Hawaiian station goes back to 1958 and is the main site for the famous Keeling Curve that shows rising carbon dioxide levels from burning of coal, oil and natural gas that tracks with rising temperatures. Levels of carbon dioxide at Mauna Loa have increased 33% since 1958.

The station at 11,300 feet high (3,444 meters), has a 131-foot (40-meter) tower that collects air to measure levels of carbon dioxide, radiation and other materials. Even though the flow of lava isn’t near the station it cut off power lines further down the mountain, officials said.

“This is sort of our flagship station,” said Colm Sweeney, the monitoring lab’s associate director. “The scientific value of Mauna Loa is really in what it stands for. It also is one of the cleanest signals that we have.”

That’s because it’s on a mountain away from heavy populations and vegetation and is so high that it is like “poking your finger up in the atmosphere” to measure levels in the troposphere without contamination from local activity, said Ariel Stein, the monitoring lab’s director.

There are more than 300 stations worldwide, including more than 70 operated by NOAA, so the global measurement of greenhouse gases will continue, Sweeney said.

During the 1984 Mauna Loa eruption the station was knocked out for 36 days but the global monitoring continued and long-term records are still complete, Sweeney said.

Sweeney and Stein said it’s unlikely that this Mauna Loa eruption will change global temperatures much, unlike 1991’s eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines. Massive eruptions like Pinatubo can put enough sulfate aerosols high into the upper atmosphere that reflect sunlight and cool global temperatures temporarily.

Mauna Loa’s eruption at the moment doesn’t seem to be spewing nearly enough aerosols and its carbon dioxide emissions are nothing compared to the burning of fossil fuels, they said.

NOVEMBER 29, 2022:

KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii (AP) — Waves of orange, glowing lava and ash blasted and billowed from the world’s largest active volcano and people on Hawaii’s Big Island have been warned to be ready if their communities are threatened. The ongoing eruption of Mauna Loa wasn’t immediately endangering nearby towns on Monday (Nov. 29, 2022). But officials told residents to be ready in the event of a worst-case scenario. The U.S. Geological Survey says the eruption began late Sunday night in the volcano on the Big Island. Scientists had been on alert because of a recent spike in earthquakes at the summit of the volcano, which last erupted in 1984.

In this aerial photo released by the U.S. Geological Survey, the Mauna Loa volcano is seen erupting from vents on the Northeast Rift Zone on the Big Island of Hawaii, Monday, Nov. 28, 2022. Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano, began spewing ash and debris from its summit, prompting civil defense officials to warn residents on Monday to prepare in case the eruption causes lava to flow toward communities. (U.S. Geological Survey via AP)

NOVEMBER 28, 2022:

HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano, has started to erupt, prompting volcanic ash and debris to fall nearby. The U.S. Geological Survey says the eruption began late Sunday night (Nov. 27, 2022) in the summit caldera of the volcano on the Big Island. Early Monday, it said lava flows were contained within the summit area and weren’t threatening nearby communities. The agency warned residents at risk from Mauna Loa lava flows should review their eruption preparations. Scientists had been on alert because of a recent spike in earthquakes at the summit of the volcano, which last erupted in 1984.

Scientists say eruption of Hawaii volcano continues to ease

Extended version:

Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Current Weather