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From: bob@uhmanoa.UUCP (Bob Cunningham)
Newsgroups: net.sci
Subject: Kilauea changes style of eruption
Message-ID: <148@uhmanoa.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 19-Jul-86 17:27:08 EDT
Article-I.D.: uhmanoa.148
Posted: Sat Jul 19 17:27:08 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 20-Jul-86 06:34:23 EDT
Organization: Hawaii Institute of Geophysics
Lines: 39
Keywords: Kilauea, volcano

[for volcano-watchers]

The character of the Kilaua eruption changed yesterday, as two small
fissures opened up and started producing pahoehoe lava.

The Kilauea volcano on Hawaii (the `big island' in the Hawaiian chain) has
been in more-or-less continuious eruptin since 3 January 1983, producing
fountaining---primarily at the Pu'u O'o vent---of up to 1,000 feet high
about once a month.

Since the last outbreak on 26 June, the volcano has been swelling in
preparation for further activity.

The current outbreak (known as `phase 48 of the 3 Jan 1983 eruption') started
at 1205 yesterday when a large crack opened up about 0.6 mile to the west
of the Pu'u O'o cone, following a swarm of earthquakes starting about 1115.
Then, at 1230, a part of the top rim of Pu'u O'o collapsed inward.

By mid-afternoon a second crack had opened
about a mile northeast of Pu'u O'o.  From both fissures the lava was
fountaining only about 10 to 15 feet high, but large amounts of smooth,
fluid-like pahoehoe flows were produced that flowed off
in several directions, typically several hundred feed wide, flowing for
about 2 miles.

By 7:00pm, the volcan's summit had lost 80% of the swelling it had gained
since June, and the level of harmonic tremor---the measure of lava sliding
down the rift zone to the erupting fissures---was beginning to ebb.

Observation of this latest phase was hampered by federal budget cuts; the
Hawaiian Volcano Observatory can no longer air-lift geologists to the site
of the eruption via helicopter, they have to hike in (the eruption series
has been occuring in a fairly remote area of the big island, more than 12
miles from the nearest road).

-- 
Bob Cunningham
cunninghamr%haw.sdscnet@LLL-MFE.ARPA
ihnp4!islenet!uhmanoa!bob