Author: Carolyn Gramling / Source: Science News for Students
Cracks open in the ground. Lava creeps across roads, swallowing cars and homes. Fountains of molten rock shoot up to 70 meters (230 feet) high, setting treetops on fire.
Last week, after a month of rumbling warning signs, Hawaii’s most active volcano began a new phase of eruptions.Kilauea (Kil-uh-way-uh) spewed clouds of steam and ash on May 3. Lava gushed forth through several new rifts — openings — on the volcano’s east slopes. Clouds of gas laden with toxic sulfur dioxide also burst from the rifts. This all-natural drama threatened many residents living in a community known as Leilani Estates. In all, some 1,700 were forced to flee homes directly in the path of the encroaching lava.
This is the 62nd eruption episode since 1983 along Kilauea’s eastern flank. The volcano is one of six that formed Hawaii’s Big Island over the past million years. Mauna Loa is the largest and most central peak. Kilauea, Mauna Kea, Hualalai and Kohala occupy the island’s edges. Mahukona is currently submerged. All six are shield volcanoes. That means they have broad flanks that were created by past flows of now-hardened lava.
As of May 7, activity had shifted to Kilauea’s southwest flank. That region continues to steam, although no new rifts have opened. Indeed, this eruption may be far from over, says Victoria Avery. She’s a volcanologist based in Reston, Va. She works in the U.
S. Geological Survey’s Volcano Hazards Program.Science News for Students talked with Avery about Kilauea’s fury, the quakes it has been spawning and what to expect next. Her responses were edited for brevity and clarity.
(Q&A continues below video)
Q: Is there anything unusual about this eruption?
A: Not to scientists. It’s typical of what Kilauea volcano can do.
Q: Were there any warning signs?
A: We saw shallow earthquake activity under that area for several days. That tells us that molten rock is moving underground. We also saw that the lava lake at the summit of Kilauea was lowering. There’s a vent called Pu’u ‘O’o [which has erupted nearly continuously since 1983], and the floor of that collapsed on April 30. That told us that magma is being withdrawn and moved elsewhere. That collapse, plus the new [quaking], told us something was going to happen.
Q. On May 4, two large earthquakes measuring magnitude 5.6 and magnitude 6.9 shook the Big Island in quick succession. How are they related to the eruption?
A: It’s not frequent but not unusual for…
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