MICHAEL MANGA

Neat stuff in the Field

Kilauea volcano, Hawaii, 2012
Kilauea volcano on the Hawai’i island hosts a summit caldera, which in turn hosts Halema’uma’u crater. The new summit vent, called the “Overlook” vent, is on the southeast side of Halema’uma’u crater and opened on March 19, 2008, after an explosive eruption that did not produce any juvenile lapilli. The first appearance of ash derived from the magma was on March 23rd, and activity continues to the present day. Throughout this time, vent and shallow conduits wall collapses have been common, comprising several hundred events. The magma free surface was not visible until May 5 2008, however volatile fluxes in great excess of background levels and the semi-continuous eruption of ash reflect magma degassing at shallow levels. In two projects led by Dr Rebecca Carey, now at University Tasmania, we have used the products of these eruptions to probe 1) convection in the conduit, and 2) the processes that cause vesiculation. Papers on these topics are currently in review.


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Halema’uma’u crater at dusk. The surface of the lava lake is about 80 m below the edge of the crater.


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Green sand (olivine) beach.


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Tree mold.


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Looking inside the tree mold.


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Pu'u 'O'o vent.


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Nene.


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Green turtle.


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