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Volcanic Smog on Hawaii
Posted on Monday, May 5, 2008 @ 2:05 pm by Dave Schumaker
The recently created vent on the Big Island of Hawaii has seen a lot of activity and has forced the closure of the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park multiple times over the past few months. The Volcanism Blog has had some excellent posts about Hawaii and the new activity as well.
An article out today, written by the Associated Press, talks about the issues facing farmers and residents of the Big Island and their struggles dealing with the volcanic smog (called vog) created by the new vent. The increased levels of sulphur dioxide and a change in wind direction have forced evacuations and killed various crops.
Big Island crops are shriveling as sulfur dioxide from Kilauea wafts over them and envelops them in “vog,” or volcanic smog. People are wheezing, and schoolchildren are being kept indoors during recess. High gas levels led Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to close several days this month, forcing the evacuation of thousands of visitors.
Residents of this volcanic island are used to toxic gas. But this haze is so bad that farmers are thinking about growing different crops, and many people are worrying about their health.
Kirk Brewer, 33, an electrician who moved to the Big Island in 2006 from Southern California, blames his headaches and wife Tracy’s itchy skin, sore throat and runny nose on the vog.
“It’s a bummer when you go to the other islands and see how clear and blue it is, but we’ll just deal with it,” Brewer said.
Geology Picture of the Day - Ash Cloud at Kilauea
Posted on Thursday, March 27, 2008 @ 11:30 am by Dave Schumaker
I thought I’d continue the theme of volcanoes and Hawaii by featuring this photo taken yesterday at the Halema’uma’u Crater on Kilauea.
The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory has more pictures and information.
USGS Podcast
Posted on Thursday, March 27, 2008 @ 11:07 am by Dave Schumaker
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.
March 27, 2008
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.
Volcanic Blast at Kilauea
Posted on Thursday, March 20, 2008 @ 6:55 am by Dave Schumaker
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.