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Kilauea volcano erupted, spilling a massive amount of molten lava into the ocean.
STATES CHRONICLE – Kilauea Volcano has erupted and spilled molten lava into the ocean, in Hawaii. Scientists at the US Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory have revealed a recording of lava coming from the Kilauea Volcano located on the Big Island of Hawaii. The phenomenon is called by researchers a volcanic “firehose” due to the fact that the volcano erupted eliminating steam and ash into the air.
This has generated dangerous conditions at sea and on land. Based on the data provided by the USGS, the lava stream was two meters wide and has been flowing into the Kamokuna ocean entry. The USGS reported that on January 28 and 29, at the ocean entry situated near the volcano, the interaction of lava pouring into cool seawater determined the occurrence of pulsating littoral explosions which delivered fragments of molten lava into the air.
When the hot lava meets the sea, explosions occur, throwing massive fragments of debris and hot rock inland. People usually come here to hike and see the lava, without acknowledging the danger they may face.
Some of the incandescent volcanic rocks fell on the sea cliff situated behind the ocean entry. This caused the formation of a spatter cone. During one of these tremendous explosions, lava was sent into the air about twice the sea cliff’s height. All these littoral bursts which happened at the ocean entry have determined harmful conditions at sea and on land.
After further investigations, geologists revealed a hot ground fissure in the sea cliff. Thus, they managed to unveil that the whole site was dangerous and unstable due to the fact that it was grounded on conglomeratic lava fragments and sand. Nevertheless, a team of specialists decided to get closer to the Kilauea volcano, analyzing the lava. They started investigating the area on January 28, wearing protective gear.
During the analysis, the team of researchers revealed that the eastern end of the fissure is almost 11.8 inches wide, but it is deeply cut into the lava located above on top of the sea cliff. Based on the records of USGS, the Pu’u ‘O’o eruption of Kilauea volcano started back in 1983. The recent explosion delivered most voluminous flowing of lava in the East Rift Zone in the last five hundred years.
Image courtesy of: wikipedia
