The Kilauea volcano that began erupting on 30 April is becoming increasingly hazardous to residents of Hawaii’s Big Island. It is now creating a haze of hot, acidic fog and blasting out clouds of ash – and there is no end in sight.
On Sunday, the , following an initial large eruption last Thursday.
“At any time, activity may again become more explosive, increasing the intensity of ash production and producing ballistic projectiles very near the vent,” the Observatory warned. “Communities downwind should be prepared for ashfall as long as this activity continues.”
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The volcano . A man’s lower leg was shattered instantly by a projectile from one of the many lava fountains erupting along the East Rift Zone, which divides the summit from the Pacific Ocean.
Acid fog
In a further development, a river of molten lava streaming down the East Rift Zone finally reached the Pacific on Sunday. There it released large clouds of hot, acidic steam containing hydrochloric acid, after mixing with sea water.
“It’s very hazardous, and the production of this lava haze is quite unpredictable,” says at the University of East Anglia, UK, who spent two years in Hawaii studying Kilauea.
“Explosions when the lava meets the sea water can create big bubbles of it, and it’s acidic and hot and so would burn the skin and eyes,” says Johnson. “People have previously died through exposure to it.”
There is also a longer-term hazard. Where the lava meets the ocean, tongue-shaped “deltas” of lava form. Once these have cooled down, they are essentially new patches of land. But Johnson says they can contain patches of unstable, glassy sand. These can destabilise the delta enough that, if too many people stand on it, it can collapse under them.
The Observatory has also warned islanders of increasing hazards from sulphurous volcanic gases, which are harmful if inhaled. Emissions trebled in volume at the weekend from some of the fissures spewing lava along the East Rift Zone.
In all, 23 fissures have now opened up along the zone beneath the summit, . Lava from four fissures has now merged to form the river that reached the Pacific.
The latest lava flows appeared hotter and fresher, says Johnson, which may be a prelude to yet more eruptions. Most of the lava that’s spewed out so far is thought to be older magma, which reached the rift zone after previous activity between 1955 and 1960. “It may be that now, the older stuff has been flushed out, leaving room for newer material to get out.”
“It’s not showing any signs of settling down, and is constantly evolving,” says Johnson. “At the moment, deformation and seismological data indicate there’s much more to come.”
Kilauea’s latest spell of activity began on 30 April, when the floor of a lava lake at the summit collapsed, allowing the lava to drain rapidly into the plumbing beneath the summit. The fate of the lava has so far been a mystery, but the increasing activity suggests some may now be reaching the surface, and that more eruptions are likely.
“This eruption is still evolving and additional outbreaks of lava are possible,” according to the Observatory. “Additional explosions are possible at any time.”
So far, around 40 properties have been destroyed, and 2000 residents evacuated.
