Weʻve been fortunate that the weathers have been kind to us. Mostly. This morning, sky is clear, temperature is a bit nippy, with gentle breezes here at Keaʻau ma uka. Last night though...I was wakened by flashes of lightning and rumbles of thunder at maybe 230a. In dreamfog becoming conscious, I heard paka ua...big fat raindrops paka paka paka on the iron roof. And of course I immediately thought that the summit was exploding and gravel was raining down. Of course. That didnʻt happen, and I am grateful, but we think of these things. The thunderstorm moved away, and I returned to slumber.
Found yesterday a new webcam. Up on the Maunaloa Strip Road. A bit pixillated are the images, but they work.
Seems a great way to watch sunrise online. This morning we see tradewinds wafting the wispy plume toward Kaʻū (to the right from Kaluapele). With the North Vent taking a rest, a hoʻomaha, much less fume is being emitted. Many call the plume "smoke" or "steam". Smoke comes from burning...wood or whatla, steam, from vaporization of liquid. Fume consists of various gases released from magma as it surfaces and pressure is released. Gases escape and rise up. Yes, mostly water vapor, but also sulphur dioxide and carbon dioxide and others. The link below is excellent, from the University of Hawaiʻi Weather site. But most times, just Go Outside Pay Attention...youʻll know whether or not itʻs voggy.
Whereʻs the vog?
And from our friends at USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory:
Monitoring Volcanic Gas in Hawaiʻi
And we remote watch and see what Pelehonuamea is working on at the moment:
Tilt seems to be flattening...perhaps an equilibrium of sorts, when incoming equals outgoing. Maybe.
The first two images below...we see island drift. The big one spins slowly and the small one not so much I think. The colors shift, with purple cooler and yelloworange hotter. The North Vent at the left edge remains quiet, while the West Vent erupts.
This morning:
Below, from last night, makes it seem the lake is aflame, boiling like crazy, but I think the brightness may be an artifact of a camera setting.
A camera in the HVO tower last night, a couple hours later, shows us an ʻōhiʻa tree silhouetted in the fairly dim glow. Pele illuminates the walls of her home, Halemaʻumaʻu, and broken clouds above. The electrical outlet reflected on tower glass is a nice touch...
And this morning. Nighttime, the kēhau, what some of us call the breeze that blows ma kai (toward the sea) at night as the land cools, blows down the slope of Maunaloa and carries the plume to the right as we see here at 822 this morning.
Wind shifts as the day (and the land) warms, then normal trades waft fume toward webcams at 932a:
We remember that fresh pāhoehoe flows on the coastal plain had a shiny silvery sheen, as seen in the shot above of the surface of the lake. The silver comes from light refracted off a fragile, thin layer of glass formed on the flow surface as 2,000 degree Fahrenheit pele freezes on contact with (relatively) frigid air. "Pāhoehoe" is also the word for satin...pretty and apropos.
The Update for today. We mahalo and aloha the hardworking staff at HVO for their diligence and dedication!
Ok then. Till tomorrow... Be well, stay safe, WEAR A MASK!!!
And please feel free to email me questions...
As always, with aloha,
BobbyC
maniniowali@gmail.com
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