Page 28 - ARUBA TODAY

A28 SCIENCE
Friday 8 June 2018
Scientists reap data from Hawaii's rumbling Kilauea volcano

By SOPHIA YAN Fire sent a mixture of hot
MALCOLM RITTER gas, rock and other mate-
HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii's rial racing down its slopes
Kilauea volcano may be and inundating the valley,
disrupting life in paradise killing nearly 100 people.
with its bursts of ash and Krippner compared the
bright-orange lava, but Guatemala eruption to
it also has scientists wide- opening a can of soda
eyed, eager to advance after shaking it vigorously.
what's known about volca- Volcanic gas underneath
noes. created bubbles that ex-
The good news is: Volca- panded, increasing pres-
noes reveal secrets when sure that blew magma
they're rumbling, which apart when it reached the
means Kilauea is producing surface, spewing cooled
a bonanza of information. lava rocks ranging from the
While scientists monitored size of sand grains to boul-
Big Island lava flows in 1955 ders.
and 1960, equipment then Explosions can be bigger,
was far less sophisticated. or occur differently, than
Given new technology, expected, and that pres-
they can now gather and ents a learning opportunity
study an unprecedented for scientists, who work on
volume of data. computer models to map
"Geophysical monitor- In this May 6, 2018, file photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey, a Hawaii Volcano Observatory out areas that may be at
ing techniques that have (HVO) geologist collects samples of spatter for laboratory analysis in the Leilani Estates subdivision higher risk in the future.
come online in the last 20 near Pahoa. "Looking at the footage
years have now been de- Associated Press afterward, we can start to
ployed at Kilauea," said tease out how these things
George Bergantz, profes- departure from its behavior for the U.S. Geological Sur- Survey volcanologist. "The actually work," Krippner
sor of earth and space sci- over the past 35 years, said vey. The other is where the more stuff you put on the said, as it's often too dan-
ences at the University of Erik Klemetti, a volcanolo- winds are blowing. Such volcano to make measure- gerous for experts to physi-
Washington. "We have this gist at Ohio's Denison Uni- knowledge is useful in alert- ments, the more you realize cally get close to an erup-
remarkable opportunity ... versity. ing the public. there's stuff going on that tion. Volcanic eruptions
to see many more scales What's happening now is Scientists can also moni- you never knew." happen fairly regularly —
of behavior both preced- a bit more like the Kilauea tor where gas is emerging, Better technology has also as many as 60 occur world-
ing and during this current of nearly a century ago. In as well as determine its meant U.S. Geological Sur- wide each year — but
volcanic crisis." 1924, steam explosions at composition and volume. vey scientists have been many are in isolated areas,
Starting May 3, Kilauea the summit lasted for more They can even measure able to accurately fore- according to the U.S. Geo-
has fountained lava and than two weeks. the subtle rise and fall of cast Kilauea's behavior as logical Survey.
flung ash and rocks from Scientists are looking into the ground over a broad it sputters over Puna, the After Kilauea's 1924 sum-
its summit, destroying hun- what caused the change area and time — down to island's most affected dis- mit explosions, the volcano
dreds of homes, closing key and whether this shift in the seconds — which suggests trict. entered a decade of pid-
highways and prompting volcano's magma plumb- when and where magma is "They've been spot on," dly rumblings, followed by
health warnings. Kilauea is ing system will become the pooling underground. said Janine Krippner, a vol- 18 years of silence. Experts
one of five volcanos that new normal. Discovering variations or canologist at Concord Uni- say Kilauea may be head-
form the Big Island, and is Radar allows researchers correlations between past versity in West Virginia. "It's ing toward years — even
a "shield" volcano — built to measure the height of and present activity pro- incredible — they're look- decades — of little or no
up over time as lava flows ash plumes shooting from vides more clues on what's ing at things happening activity.
layer on top of layer. the summit, even when happening. It also helps below the surface, using For now, volcanologists
Technically speaking, it has they occur at night. Plume scientists understand past the monitoring equipment feel a "tremendous amount
been continuously erupt- heights are an effect of lava flows, anticipate what that they have, the knowl- of responsibility" to learn
ing since 1983. But the re- how much heat energy is could occur next, and pin- edge they have of past as much as possible from
cent combination of earth- released and the explo- point signs or patterns be- eruptions, and have been the volcano, Poland said.
quakes shaking the ground, sion's intensity. fore an eruption. able to get people to not Its latest activity has de-
steam-driven explosions at "It's one of the key fac- "You're sort of zeroing in be in a deadly area." This stroyed about 400 homes
the top, and lava creeping tors that dictates how far on finer and finer levels of is unfortunately not always — including about 280 over
into a new area some 12 ash will be dispersed," said detail into how the vol- possible, as nature can be the last several days — and
miles (20 kilometers) from Charles Mandeville, vol- cano works," said Michael unpredictable. On June 3, displaced thousands of res-
the summit represents a cano hazards coordinator Poland, a U.S. Geological Guatemala's Volcano of idents. Lava from Kilauea
has also downed power
lines and knifed across
highways.
"It's coming at a great cost
in terms of impact on the
lives and livelihoods of so
many people — we owe
it to the people of Puna to
make sure that we learn
the lessons the volcano
is teaching us," Poland
said.q