Volcanoes
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Attention

Drone footage reveals mysterious cracks in Kilauea

hawaii volcano
© GettyA drone mission has alarmed scientists monitoring the erupting Hawaii volcano.
A drone mission has alarmed scientists monitoring the erupting Hawaii volcano, which has become one of the world's most dangerous and volatile sites.

Kilauea has shocked the world with streams of lava swallowing houses and giant fissures opening up across Hawaii.

The latest aerial drone footage of the volcano has revealed dramatic changes within the volcano spotted at one of Kilauea's main craters

There are new alarming cracks and fault seen in a collapsed crater, some of which are spewing with intense steam.

Scientists are concerned that an "expanding collapsed crater" and the debris blocking the vent could trigger a massive explosion.

Fire

Indonesia's Mount Merapi explodes in biggest eruption this year, red alert issued with flight warnings

Merapi June 1st 2018
© Indonesia National Disaster Mitigation Agency
Indonesia raised the flight warning around the Mount Merapi volcano in Magelang, Central Java to its highest level on Friday (Jun 1) after it sent a towering plume of grey ash more than 6km into the air, its biggest eruption this year.

The Volcano Observatory Notice for Aviation (VONA) issued a code red warning alert, which means that a volcanic eruption is underway with significant emission of ash into the atmosphere.

However, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said the latest eruption lasted about two minutes and the Adi Sucipto International Airport in Yogyakarta remains open.

Mount Merapi is about 28km from the city of Yogyakarta.

Comment: It would appear that volcanic and geologic activity around the world is on the increase: For more pics of June 1st's eruption at Mount Merapi click here.


Attention

'Vog' from Hawaii's Kilauea volcano blankets Marshall Islands, 3700km away

Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano smog or ‘vog’
© Chris Stewart/APHawaii’s Kilauea volcano has been sending volcanic smog or ‘vog’ into the atmosphere.


Officials have warned that volcanic smog would continue moving west, as Marshall Islands issues health warning


Haze from the Kilauea volcano eruption in Hawaii blanketed the Marshall Islands 3,700 kilometres (2,300 miles) away on Sunday, as officials warned it would continue moving west.

The haze, a phenomenon known as "vog" or volcanic smog, is spreading across Micronesia, the US National Weather Service based in Guam said.

The volcano on Hawaii's Big Island is now in its fourth week of eruptions.

Meteorologists advised residents on the Marshall Islands with respiratory problems to stay indoors while airlines and shipping companies were warned to be aware of "lower visibilities".

The Guam weather office said haze produced by Kilauea would spread westward and reach Kosrae, Pohnpei and possibly Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia over the next few days.

Kilauea is the world's most active volcano and one of five on Hawaii's Big Island.

It started erupting on 3 May, prompting about 2,000 people to flee from their mountainside homes.

Scientists believe the volcanic activity may be a precursor to a major eruption similar to the one that shook the island in the mid-1920s.

Biohazard

Uncharted territory: Kilauea lava flow begins engulfing Hawaii's geothermal power plant

lava flow hawaii power plant
Lava from Hawaii's erupting Kilauea volcano has reached the Puna Geothermal Venture plant, covering a well and threatening another. At the same time, fast-moving lava flows are now threatening nearby communities, prompting new evacuations.

"Lava flow from Fissures 7 and 21 crossed into PGV [Puna Geothermal Venture] property overnight and has now covered one well that was successfully plugged," declared the Hawaii Civil Defense Agency in a statement released on Sunday, May 27 at 6:00 pm local time. "That well, along with a second well 100 feet [30 meters] away, are stable and secured, and are being monitored. Also due to preventative measures, neither well is expected to release any hydrogen sulfide."


Comment: This may just be the beginning. And not just for Hawaii.


Info

Adapt 2030 Ice Age Report: Signs in the skies of the Eddy Solar Grand Minimum

antisolar arc 2018
© Pål Tengesdal
Signs are appearing our skies that the atmosphere is changing as predicted with the gran solar minimum. Rare anti-solar arcs over Norway, Cyclone over Yemen and Oman, Green flashes in UK and Norway. Hawaii has blue flames as the Earth cracks and methane ignites and CO2 didn't cause warming in 1950-1980 even though it was increasing in concentration. A look at Wheeler's drought clock, another repeating cycle as well the grand solar minimum.


Sources

Binoculars

Methane outgassing produces eerie blue flames near Hawaii's Kilauea volcano

kilaeua methane blue flame hawaii
© CBS NewsAt Hawaii's Kilauea volcano, eerie blue flames indicate the presence of methane gas.
Blue flames burning in the lava from Hawaii's Kilauea volcano are raising new fears of explosions. Emergency officials say if fissures open west of Pahoa, lava could block the one remaining open highway. If that happens, about 1,000 people would have to be helicoptered to safety, reports CBS News' Mark Strassmann.

Residents are also eyeing another disturbing development. After three weeks of gawking at images of bright red lava bursting skyward, the Big Island's focus has shifted to something blue and worrisome: blue flames that indicate the presence of methane gas. Methane gas is a result of the lava burning plants and trees. Scientists say it can trigger explosions if ignited while trapped underground.

"It's the first time, maybe the second time I've seen the blue flames thing. It's very dramatic, very eerie," geophysicist Jim Kauahikaua said.

Fire

Kilauea's fiery flow threatening a significant source of Hawaii's power supply

kilauea lava thratens power plant
© Mario Tama/Getty ImagesLava from the Kilauea volcano approaches the Puna Geothermal Venture plant on Hawaii's Big Island on Monday.
Updated at 5:27 p.m. ET

In the weeks since the Kilauea volcano began belching lava into Hawaii's residential areas, the fiery flow has destroyed dozens of structures and covered scores of acres on the Big Island. But authorities fear its destructive reach could ravage at least two more cornerstones of the state: its power supply and, a little less tangibly, its all-important tourism industry.

On Monday evening local time, the Hawaii County Civil Defense agency announced that lava from nearby fissures had begun to encroach on the southern edge of a significant source of the Big Island's power, the Puna Geothermal Venture.

The plant harvests hot liquid and steam from underground wells to drive turbine generators for electricity, which is then sold to the state's utility.

Another risk, besides the loss of power, rests in what might happen if the lava overcomes the state's protective measures: "There's a steam release, there's many chemicals, but primarily the critical factor would be hydrogen sulfide, a very deadly gas," Hawaii's Emergency Management Agency chief, Tom Travis, told reporters Monday night.

Comment:


Fire

Lava haze: A look at Hawaii's latest volcanic hazard

kilauea haze hazard
© AP Photo/Jae C. HongPlumes of steam rise as lava enters the ocean near Pahoa, Hawaii Sunday, May 20, 2018. Kilauea volcano that is oozing, spewing and exploding on Hawaii’s Big Island has gotten more hazardous in recent days, with rivers of molten rock pouring into the ocean Sunday and flying lava causing the first major injury.
Lava from Hawaii's Kilauea volcano is pouring into the sea and setting off a chemical reaction that creates giant clouds of acid and fine glass.

The lava haze, or "laze," is created when molten rock hits the ocean and marks just the latest hazard from a volcano that has been generating earthquakes and spewing lava, sulfur dioxide and ash since it began erupting in Big Island backyards on May 3.

The dangers have forced at least 2,000 people to evacuate and destroyed more than 40 buildings. It's also created anxiety for thousands of others about the possibility of lava heading their way or cutting off roads they depend on to get to work, school and grocery stores.

Here are key things to know about the latest volcanic threat:

Comment: See also:


Fire

First volcano-related injury recorded - man suffers serious burns from lava spatter

leilani estates lava rift
© USGS/HVOLava fountains from the new fissure eruption at Leilani Estates on Kilauea, seen on May 5, 2018.
A man was seriously injured when he was hit with lava spatter while standing on his third-floor balcony - the first known injury related to Hawaii's Kilauea volcano eruptions as new volcanic activity creates new threats in surrounding neighborhoods.

The homeowner on Noni Farms Road in Pahoa was hit with lava on the shin and taken to the hospital with serious injuries, Janet Snyder, spokeswoman for the Office of the Mayor, told Reuters.

"It hit him on the shin, and shattered everything from there down on his leg," Snyder said, adding that the lava spatter could weigh "as much as a refrigerator."

"And even small pieces of spatter can kill," she said.

No other information about the man and his condition were released as of Sunday morning.

Fire

Adapt 2030 Ice Age Report: Lava composition changes from Kilauea volcano & sulfur dioxide emissions increase 300%

Kilauea lava flow
© Daily Mail (screen capture)
The lava type on Kilauea has changed to very liquid, very fluid which moved miles and formed rivers of lava to the sea overnight. The lava is more like flowing water than lava at the moment. Sulfur Dioxide has also increased 300% and officials warn of toxic air filled with silica needles, a serious breathing hazard.


Comment: Kilauea volcano growing more hazardous - spewing lava causes first major injury