Fresh explosion of Kilauea volcano sends lava spewing 180ft into the air as experts warn impact on Hawaii’s animal and marine life will last for DECADES
Small blast at the summit of the erupting Kilauea Volcano on Sunday has created a driving hazard for roads
Lava fountains from a fissure reached as high as 180 feet, pushing flows of molten rock into the Pacific Ocean
Experts said the eruption could impact the state’s marine and animal life as the environment changes
The volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island first started erupting on May 3 and its lava first met the ocean on May 20
A spokesperson for Hawaii Emergency Management Agency said conditions appear stable for the moment
No one has died in this Hawaii eruption but about 600 homes have been swallowed by lava flows
KELSEY CHENG
DAILYMAIL.COM
11 June 2018
A small explosion at the summit of Hawaii’s erupting Kilauea Volcano on Sunday sent ash spewing into the air, creating a driving hazard for roads on parts of the Big Island, the US Geological Survey said.
Lava fountains from a fissure in the volcano reached as high as 180 feet (55 meters) from Saturday night into Sunday, pushing flows of molten rock into the Pacific Ocean, it said.
Kilauea, on Hawaii’s Big Island, first started erupting on May 3, resulting in lava oozing over residential communities and heading towards the Pacific Ocean. The lava first met the ocean on May 20.
Seismic activity at the crater continues with gas explosions and ash eruptions under 10,000 feet (3,050 metres). While the eruption is never predictable, conditions appear stable for the moment,’ Richard Rapoza, a spokesman for Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, said in an email.
The eruption, which entered its 39th day on Sunday, stands as the most destructive in the United States since at least the violent 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington state.
The major eruption reduced hundreds of square miles to wasteland and killed nearly 60 people, according to geologist Scott Rowland, a volcanologist at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
However, the eruption is expected to impact the state’s marine and animal life for decades as the environment changes in the wake of the lava flow.
When lava – which emits sulfur dioxide and hydriodic acid – mixes with water, it changes the acidity in the water.
If the acidity changes enough, it could have a deleterious effect on sensitive marine life, which would either leave the area or stay away from it in the future, he said.
In addition, when lava meets water, it sheds tiny, glassy particles into the water, which Samsone said would be harmful when passing through animals with gills.
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