Saturday, December 26, 2020. Hmmmm. Whatʻs She up to?

 Always something new... On this heavy-skyed overcast morning, early webcam images were darkish and kinda gloomy looking.  So we went here there and here again as camera images were refreshed.

Itʻs a bit geographically challenging.  Maps are generally oriented with North at the top, South at the bottom, and East West right left.  But because of the cameras positions on a rim of Kaluapele, the North Vent is at the left, and the West Vent at the bottom.  Takes awhile to get that fixed in my brain.

I looked first at the KW cam:

What was the primary North Vent was dark at 731a.  Red pele at the bottom of the image from presumably the West Vent we saw active a few days ago.  And peering closely, the island now has a cliffed shore, and a low cliff is visible (the dark line) at the right (South side) of the lake.

Then we looked at Tilt:

It turned to inflation (upward) at 2a or so.  Hmmm

Then my favorite:  The Thermal Images...the first, last night at 750p:  North Vent happy, though on the South a piece of crust had foundered, turned over or sunk, making for the hot yellow white color.

And this morning (Auē! I failed to correctly save the 730a image), but 830ʻs will suffice.  North Vent dark, South rim cooler with that dark purple scalloped edge, and low cliffs ringing the island...looks like there was some drainback after North Vent went dark.  Kinda like during later episodes of Kīlauea Iki in late 1959...the vent was submerged, and when an episode ended, lots of pele drained back into the lua.

Back to topic...Then I looked at HVO Photo Video Chronology: This photo taken at 515a today. The West Vent playing.

As of about 2:40 a.m. HST on December 26, 2020, activity at the west vent in Halema‘uma‘u crater wall at Kīlauea's summit has increased. This photo, taken at approximately 5:15 a.m. HST shows fountaining at the west vent, and lava pouring from the north end of the fissure into the growing lava lake. HVO field crews monitoring the activity overnight measured the west vent lava fountains as at least 10 m (32 ft) high. USGS photo H. Dietterich.

And so Pelehonuamea continues her work.

Below at 851a, we see red at the bottom...

Then at 930, just a plume of uahiʻawa...though the horseshoe rim of the West Vent (at the left) seems better defined.  More drainback paha? Or less fume?  Or...

And then The Update at 914a:

Change:  The Only Constant.  Many seem uncomfortable not knowing.  They want clear, definitive answers.  But sometimes, no can... Especially when we arenʻt in charge.  So the Saga of Pelehonuamea continues... But I gotta say, playing detective is fun.  Looking, watching, observing, making sense (hopefully) of decades of accumulated knowledge, and trying to understand current activities...

The thing is, every luaʻi pele (eruption) is different.  Similar, perhaps, but different.  Iʻm thinking that after the 62 lūʻōniu (collapse events) during The Three Months (May, June, July 2018), the interior structure of the area under and surrounding Halemaʻumaʻu must be kind of a mess.  The piston-dropping analogy was used.  Concentric rings and partial rings of fracture, layers, strata of varying densities and thicknesses, and liquid pele trying to make its way to the surface through those mazes.  No wonder that vents start and stop or pause, that lava drains back to be recycled somewhere sometime.  And no wonder that weʻre left to wonder at The Wonder of it all.

And then too, we wonder...What are people thinking?  Those folks in Puna ma kai who seem to want everything back the way it was...Rebuild.  Rebuild roads so we can go back.  Rebuild utilities so can get light water and internet.  Rebuild my house.  I canʻt understand.

I recently responded to a couple of Letters to the Editor of West Hawaii Today:

And then in yesterdayʻs Tribune Herald, I saw this:

You know those bumper stickers?  The "Ainokea! I Do What I Like!" ones?  This is like that in my estimation.  I donʻt get it.  Might as well just bulldoze the whole thing, like they did with Puʻulaimana, the 1960 cinder cone at Kapoho named for Mr Lyman.  Bulldoze, sell the cinderlava, and be done with it.  No need Be Outside Pay Attention.  No Need.  Ainokea.  No Need Hawaiian Name.  Ainokea.  Just call um Estes Hill.  Nuff aʻready.

How very very sad...  And some wonder why some malihini arenʻt accepted here... Auē, Auē, Auē...

But in the end, for many of us, Aloha ʻĀina for our ʻĀina Aloha shall endure.  Always pau ʻole.

me ke aloha till next time,

BobbyC

maniniowali@gmail.com