Hawaii

I wasn’t aware of this, but the USGS has a podcast! Called CoreCast, they publish new episodes at least once every few weeks (and sometimes more often). The latest episode (#35), is titled Dramatic Developments at Kilauea Volcano and was posted this morning. This podcast coincides with a recent press release about increased activity on the volcano. Check it out!

I’ve linked to a copy of the latest podcast below.

I’ve actually thought of trying to put together a geology podcast featuring a panel of various folks throughout the geoblogosphere and talking about recent developments in the earth sciences (similar to This Week in Tech podcasts). It could be interesting, though I’m not sure how much demand there would be for it.

Interestingly enough, there is a podcast named “The Geologic Podcast,” though as far as I can tell, it has very little to do with geology, or even science for that matter.

The first explosion in Kilauea’s main crater in 84 years happened yesterday as gravel sized rock rained down over an area of 75 acres. Scientists believe the blast was caused by gas buildup, as no lava actually erupted from the blast.

Note: Photo is from a previous eruption on Kilauea’s south flank

No lava erupted as part of the 3 a.m. explosion. That suggests it was caused by hydrothermal or gas buildup, Kauahikaua said.

Scientists monitoring the summit say that there’s a “remote possibility” of an eruption inside the half-mile-wide crater, but that it’s unlikely because other indicators of an eruption aren’t present.

“The recent explosive event represents a significant addition and change to Kilauea Volcano’s ongoing activity, and Hawaiian Volcano Observatory is using every means available to study its causes and consequences,” Kauahikaua said in a statement.

More information from the Geoblogosphere
Andrew Alden’s Geology Blog at About.com
Geotripper
Ron Schott’s Geology Home Companion Blog
The Volcanism Blog

More information from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory is available here.

A beautiful picture of pahoehoe from Hawaii.

Image Credit: cocoi_m on flickr.