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Posts Tagged ‘Hawaii volcano’

‘Misunderestimated’

Posted by feww on November 9, 2014

Images of the day:

Timelapse camera caught in Kīlauea overflow

HVO- preimage-955-s
A timelapse camera that USGS HVO scientists were using to monitor a lava tube skylight was caught in an overflow this morning. In this view, recent lava has surrounded the tripod and melted the power cable. Daily updates about Kīlauea’s ongoing eruptions, recent images and videos of summit and East Rift Zone volcanic activity, and data about recent earthquakes are posted on the HVO Web site at http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov. [Source: HVO]

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Federal Disaster Declared due to Hawaii Eruption, Lava Flow

Posted by feww on November 4, 2014

VOLCANIC HAZARDS
KILAUEA JUNE 27TH LAVA FLOW
FEDERAL DISASTER DECLARATION
SCENARIOS 989, 900, 797, 787, 707, 444, 402, 070, 047, 017, 07, 02
.

Major Disaster Declaration for Kīlauea June 27th Flow (DR – 4201)

The White House has declared a federal disaster in Hawaii County due to Kilauea’s Pu’u ‘Ō’ō volcanic eruption and the June 27th lava flow.

“Kenneth K. Suiso has been named as the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area.  Suiso said additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further damage assessments,” said White House in a statement.

KILAUEA VOLCANO (VNUM #332010)
19°25’16” N 155°17’13” W, Summit Elevation 4091 ft (1247 m)
Current Volcano Alert Level: WARNING
Current Aviation Color Code: ORANGE

Kīlauea Latest Images: November 2, 2014

HVO preImage-942
A breakout occurs from an inflated lobe of the June 27th lava flow on Sunday morning, November 2, 2014. Scattered breakouts like this, which took place about 200 meters (218 yards) upslope of the stalled leading edge, have been common over the past few days and are filling in low points behind the flow front. [Source: HVO]

Summit Observations: At Kīlauea volcano’s summit, tilt and lava lake level inferred from the webcams continue their gradual recoveries following last week’s DI event. Volcanic tremor persists at low amplitudes which show episodic fluctuation. There are no significant local seismic events evident on the seismograms from the NPT seismic station that is closest to Halemaʻumaʻu Crater. Sulfur-dioxide emission rate measurements for the summit ranged from 4,250 up to 7,000 tonnes/day (see caveat below) through the week-long period ending October 28, 2014. A small amount of particulate material was carried aloft by the plume. [HVO]

Activity Summary: Kīlauea volcano continued to erupt at its summit and within its East Rift Zone, and gas emissions remained elevated. As of Monday morning, the leading edge of the June 27th lava flow had not advanced beyond where it stalled late last week, in a residential area approximately 155 meters (170 yards) above Pāhoa Village Road. Activity behind the lava flow’s leading edge, within the flow’s interior and along its side margins, continued with localized breakouts of molten lava. Gradual inflation was recorded by the tiltmeters at Kīlauea’s summit. The level of the summit lava lake at Halemaʻumaʻu Crater, as reflected in web cam images, has also risen since Sunday. [HVO]

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June 27th Flow Could Reach Ocean by May 2015

Posted by feww on October 30, 2014

VOLCANIC HAZARDS
KILAUEA JUNE 27TH LAVA FLOW
STATE OF EMERGENCY PROCLAMATION
MASS EVACUATIONS
LOSS OF HABITAT
CROP DESTRUCTION
SCENARIOS 989, 900, 797, 787, 707, 444, 402, 070, 047, 017, 07, 02
.

Kilauea’s lava flow continues to cross Pāhoa Village

FIRE-EARTH estimates the June 27th flow could reach the ocean, currently about 10km away, by May 2015. Temperature of the lava exceeds 850°C along the leading edge of the most rapidly advancing part of the flow.

HVO Daily Update:  October 29, 2014 @09:12 AM HST (Wednesday, October 29, 2014 @ 19:12 UTC)

KILAUEA VOLCANO (VNUM #332010)
Coordinates: 19°25’16” N 155°17’13” W (19.421111N, 155.286944W)
Summit Elevation: 4091 ft (1,247 m)
Current Volcano Alert Level: WARNING
Current Aviation Color Code: ORANGE

Activity Summary: Kīlauea continues to erupt at its summit and within its East Rift Zone, and gas emissions remained elevated. Currently, the June 27th flow is advancing northeast through a residential area between Apaʻa St/Cemetery Rd and Pāhoa Village Road. During the past 24 hours, the leading edge of the most rapidly advancing part of the flow advanced at an average rate of roughly 10 m/hr (~11 yd/hr); between 2am and 630 am this morning, the rate of advance slowed to roughly 5 m/hr (~5.5 yd/hr). At 7AM, the flow front was about 240 m (~260 yd) straight-line distance from Pāhoa Village Road. Source: HVO

Currently, the flow continues to advance at a rate of 5 m/hr (~5.5 yd/hr), said HVO.

  • GPS receivers in the summit area have recorded slight contraction across the caldera since early July. The most recent sulfur-dioxide emission rate measurements for the summit were 2,700–3,600 tonnes/day (see caveat here) for the week ending October 21, 2014.
  • The ambient SO2 concentrations near the vent vary greatly, but are persistently higher than 10 ppm and frequently exceed 50 ppm (upper limit of detector) during moderate trade winds.
  • The gas plume typically includes a small amount of ash-sized tephra (mostly fresh spatter bits and Pele’s hair from the circulating lava lake). The heaviest pieces are deposited onto nearby surfaces while the finer bits can be carried several kilometers before dropping out of the plume.


A view of the flow over Cemetery Rd./Apaʻa St. The transfer station is at the top of the image. Source: HVO


The June 27th flow remains active, and is slowly approaching Pāhoa Village Road. This photo was taken just before 10 am, and shows the flow front moving through private property towards a low point on the road. At 11:30 am today, the flow front was 215 m (235 yards) from Pāhoa Village Road. Source: HVO


This photo looks downslope from Cemetery Road, and shows the pasture and cemetery that the flow front advanced through several days ago. Much of the cemetery has been covered by lava, but a kipuka has left a portion of the cemetery uncovered for now. Source: HVO

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Lava Flow Nearing Residences in Pāhoa, Hawaii

Posted by feww on October 28, 2014

VOLCANIC HAZARDS
KILAUEA JUNE 27TH LAVA FLOW
STATE OF EMERGENCY PROCLAMATION
MASS EVACUATIONS
LOSS OF HABITAT
CROP DESTRUCTION
SCENARIOS 989, 900, 797, 787, 707, 444, 402, 070, 047, 017, 07, 02
.

Kīlauea continues to erupt,

Active lava flows can produce methane blasts, propelling rocks and other debris into the air, said HVO.

Kilauea Status Reports, Updates, and Information Releases  issued by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO)

Monday, October 27, 2014 5:51 PM HST (Tuesday, October 28, 2014 03:51 UTC)

  • The advance rate of the narrow leading edge varied between 7 and 10 meters (8 and 11 yards) per hour today, which is equivalent to 170 and 240 meters (185 and 260 yards) per day. As of 4:30 PM, the flow was 510 meters (560 yards) upslope from Pāhoa Village Road; the flow width was about 50 meters (55 yards) at the leading edge.
  • The most recent sulfur-dioxide emission rate measurements for the summit were 2,700–3,600 tonnes/day (see caveat here) for the week ending October 21, 2014. A small amount of particulate material was carried aloft by the plume.
  • Potentially-lethal concentrations of sulfur dioxide gas may be present within 1 km downwind of vent areas.


The June 27th lava flow remained active, and the flow front was nearing residential areas in the northwest portion of Pāhoa. The flow front was heading towards a low spot on the Pāhoa Village Road, between Apaʻa St. and the post office. This photo was taken at 11:30 am HST on Monday, when the flow front was 540 meters (0.3 miles) from Pāhoa Village Road. Source: HVO


This annotated photograph shows the notable features around the flow front. The photo was taken at 11:30 am, and also shows the distance the flow front has traveled between Cemetery Rd./Apaʻa St. and Pāhoa Village Rd. Source: HVO


A comparison of a normal photograph with a thermal image. The white box shows the approximate extent of the thermal image. The elevated temperatures (white and yellow areas) around the flow front indicate that significant activity is focused at the front, driving its forward movement. In addition, a slow-moving lobe was active upslope of Cemetery Rd. Farther upslope, scattered breakouts persist in the wider portion of the flow.  Source: HVO

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Kīlauea Lava Flow Consuming Everything Along Its Paths

Posted by feww on October 27, 2014

VOLCANIC HAZARDS
KILAUEA JUNE 27TH LAVA FLOW
STATE OF EMERGENCY PROCLAMATION
MASS EVACUATIONS
LOSS OF HABITAT
CROP DESTRUCTION
SCENARIOS 989, 900, 797, 787, 707, 444, 070, 047, 017, 07, 02
.

Kīlauea Lava Flow Advancing toward Pāhoa, Hawaii

The June 27th lava flow continues advancing toward Pāhoa at a rate of up to 360 meters per day.

Kilauea Status Reports, Updates, and Information Releases  issued by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO)

Sunday, October 26, 2014 5:59 PM HST (Monday, October 27, 2014 03:59 UTC)

KILAUEA VOLCANO (VNUM #332010)
19°25’16” N, 155°17’13” W, Summit Elevation 4091 ft (1,247 m)
Current Volcano Alert Level: WARNING
Current Aviation Color Code: ORANGE

The relatively narrow finger of lava that crossed Apaʻa Street yesterday morning continued to travel downslope, splitting into two lobes as it advanced. The faster, northern lobe crossed completely through the Pāhoa cemetery by mid-morning, while the slower southern lobe was advancing through open pasture south of the cemetery. Another lobe farther upslope, just above Apaʻa Street, advanced about 50 meters (55 yards) since yesterday.

Over the course of the day, the advance rate of the narrow finger that crossed the cemetery varied from about 10 and 15 meters per hour (11 to 16 yards per hour), which is equivalent to 240–360 meters per day (260–390 yards per day). As of 5 PM, the faster-moving finger was about 390 meters (425 yards) downslope of Apaʻa Street and 660 meters (720 yards) upslope from Pāhoa Village Road. It had an average width of about 40 m (45 yd). The slightly slower-moving southern lobe in the pasture south of the cemetery reached slightly steeper terrain at mid-afternoon today, and was traveling at about 9 meters per hour (10 yards per hour) at 5 PM. It will likely rejoin with the finger that came through the cemetery near the northeast end of the pasture. [HVO]

 

HVO -905-small
As of 10 AM, HST, on October 26, 2014, the June 27th flow front remains active and continues to advance towards the northeast. A portion of the front is still moving through the open field (shown here), while the leading tip of the flow has advanced through the Pāhoa cemetery. Source: HVO

HVO-907-small
An HVO geologist walks across the surface of the flow, which covers the short access road to the cemetery. As is typical for pāhoehoe, the flow has inflated over the past day and was chest high in many places. Source: HVO


The June 27th lava flow crossed Apaʻa Street / Cemetery Road at 3:50 AM, HST, Saturday morning, October 25, 2014. In this photo, which was taken at about 9 AM Saturday, the flow is moving from right to left, with burning asphalt visible along it’s NW margin. A utility pole, far right, was surrounded by lava but remained standing at the time of the photo. The hope is that the protective insulation and cinder/cement barrier around the pole will prevent it from burning through. Source: HVO


This map uses a satellite image acquired in March 2014 (provided by Digital Globe) as a base to show the area around the front of the June 27th lava flow. The area of the flow on October 25, 2014, at 5:00 PM is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the flow as mapped on October 26 at 12:30 PM is shown in red. The dotted blue lines show steepest-descent paths in the area, calculated from a 1983 digital elevation model (DEM).  Source: HVO

Sulfur Dioxide Advisory Level

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