mega geophysics, geophysics, kilauea, science, volcano

Kilauea Volcano Restarts Its Fires, Spews Strange New Ash

A crater on the ever-active Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii has started to spew a huge plume of ash. The recent explosion, which shut down roads in the area, may be a harbinger of even bigger explosions to come. Above, you can see what happened a few years ago when things got explodey on Kilauea. We've got pictures of the new ash plume, plus more Kilauea lava love below.

Above is a picture taken a few days ago of the ash plume. According to PhysOrg:

The ash plume, which is thousands of feet high, indicates an unknown geophysical change deep inside the volcano. Scientists also said small amounts of lava erupted from the crater Monday.
The National Park Service has closed Crater Rim Drive through the south caldera area until further notice, and people with asthma and other breathing problems were told to avoid downwind areas. USGS said the possibility of future small explosions from Halemaumau Crater cannot be ruled out.

Below, you can see a picture of Kilauea's bright red lava taken a few weeks ago.

And these gorgeous pictures, of Kilauea's lava flowing into the ocean, were taken in 2005.

There is a major volcano research center on Kilauea, which attracts scientists from all over the world. Images via USGS and AP.

Kilauea Spews Ash [PhysOrg]

2:00 PM on Wed Mar 26 2008
By Annalee Newitz
5,911 views
18 comments

Comments

moff at 02:18 PM on 03/26/08
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Connectedness Index: 583

Duck and cover!
moff at 02:20 PM on 03/26/08
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Connectedness Index: 583

"Everyone! Be very careful not to walk on anything that is not the pillows from the couch."
Project Thanatos at 02:26 PM on 03/26/08
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Umm... did anyone remember to sacrifice a virgin to the volcano god this week? Guys? Hello?
Garrison Dean, King... at 02:27 PM on 03/26/08
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Connectedness Index: 140

Oh, Charlie and Annalee.... Where was Supervolcano on the list of apocalypses? That 3 hour long discovery channel movie/docudrama was pretty scary, but I feel only the tip of the lavaberg.
dOk at 02:27 PM on 03/26/08
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Meh...
Its only Hawaii getting bigger. I wonder just how big the chain of islands will eventually get?
Surreality at 02:32 PM on 03/26/08
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@moff: I always knew all those years of my childhood I spent practicing for such an event would pay off one day.
possumboy at 02:41 PM on 03/26/08
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The floors lava!
Rusty626 at 02:55 PM on 03/26/08
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@Project Thanatos: Pele is a GODDESS, thank you very much. The myths go that she gets angry when messed with. That's why it's bad luck to take lava home as a souvenir. I've been to the spot where the first pic was taken. It's an amazing site.
Ghede at 03:15 PM on 03/26/08
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@Rusty626: Oh yes. I take lava home all the time. Nothing beats it for heating up a TV dinner. I believe you mean the volcanic sand and rocks found in Hawaii.
Skeller at 04:05 PM on 03/26/08
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Volcanos Rule! \m/ \m/
Klebert L. Hall at 04:13 PM on 03/26/08
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What's strange about the new ash? Did I miss something?
-Kle.
DCGaymer at 04:47 PM on 03/26/08
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Darnit, I was just there last fall....if it 'splodes....I'll have to go back and see it all over again. ... and I was saving this year for a meteor crater.
Wesman at 05:31 AM on 03/27/08
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The island is upset. It has a mission you must complete. You must return to the island. I blame the Black Smoke Monster.
Pouncer at 06:52 AM on 03/27/08
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The picture of the bright red lava is amazing.
Sandusky at 06:58 AM on 03/27/08
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The 2 photos at the end of the article...fire and water, red and blue. Very beautiful pics.
IchabodCrane at 08:07 AM on 03/27/08
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Last week there was a minor latenight explosion and now this week the smoke plume appears. Any wonder they are asking for help from the guys at Mount ST. Helens?
_
If you want here is the address of a live webcam pointed at Kilauea from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory: [hvo.wr.usgs.gov]
bifyu at 01:30 PM on 03/28/08
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the nice thing about kilauea is that it's rarely explodey. it's usually just oozey.

pretty sure the pahoehoe flow speed limit photo wasn't the result of anything explodey.
Zna at 05:03 PM on 03/28/08
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It seems that the H2O tests the NGPS been doing on the ash plume have acertained that it is not of normal ground water, but from the molten magma itself- a never before heard of occurance. They're calling it " juvenile water".
Read here:
[www.hawaiimagazine.com]