Sunday, March 13, 2021 Ka ua loku

 For now, in humid airs, with sun teasing us, memory of chill torrential downpours fades quickly.  Rain gauges are emptied (as if we need them to tell us "Itʻs raining!  Hard!") and lives proceed.  Iʻve been entranced by webcam views of the Lua, with varying qualities of light, often monochromatic palettes of greys playing hide and seek with peleviews.

Hiʻohiʻona:  features, as of a face or landscape (+) ʻāina:  land, or earth

Hiʻohiʻona ʻāina = landscape [as in the features of the land surrounding us]

And then thereʻs uhi, from the P/E Dictionary:

uhi

1. nvt. Covering, cover, veil, film, lid, solid tattooing, tent (Puk 26.12); to cover, spread over, engulf, conceal, overwhelm; to don, as a feather cloak. Fig., to deceive, hide the truth. Kākau uhi, to tattoo solidly. Uhi mai ka lani pō, the night sky spreads forth [ignorance]. Ua uhi ʻia kō lāua mau manaʻo i ke aloha (For. 4:67), their thoughts were overwhelmed with love. Uhi i ka moe, to make a bed. hoʻo.uhi Caus/sim. (PPN ʻufi.)

2. n. Large, bluish-brown birthmark.

3. n. The yam (Dioscorea alata), from southeast Asia, a climber with square stems, heart-shaped leaves, and large, edible, underground tubers. The plant is widely distributed through islands of the Pacific, where it is commonly grown for food. (HP 166–172, Neal 230.) Also pālau, ulehihi. In the past botanists have applied the name uhi incorrectly to the hoi kuahiwi. (PPN ʻufi.)

4. n. Mother-of-pearl bivalve, mother-of-pearl shank. (PPN ʻufi.)

5. n. Turtle shell piece used for scraping olonā.

6. n. Mark made by the gall of raw pūpū ʻawa (a shellfish) on tapa or on the skin as an ornament. (PCP u(f,s)i.)

Another of many many words with multiple meanings, wherein context is everything.  The applicable definition here is "veil".  As in, to my way of thinking with kōkua from pn,

uhia nā hiʻohiʻona ʻāina

Veiled landscapes.  Those we see dimly, whether because of weathers, or because of fading memory.  

The bottom view, above, is reminiscent of paintings Iʻve seen of the Volcano School genre.  Some are dimly lit, verging on abstractions, but they accurately depict various twilight or dawn scenes.  Glow of pele adds intrigue, different than monochrome version below.

The west vent cam view below and the view above "tell" us that Kona winds are blowing [below, bluish fume moves left to right], and an episode of ka ua loku (a torrential downpour) has just occurred.  Steaming walls, the east side of the loko ahi steaming abundantly, while the papa pele at the vent is so hot rain evaporates before reaching the ground.

The work of Pelehonuamea continues to evolve as we witness variations in volumes erupted (effusion rates) and topography of the papa, the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu.  The active loko ahi decreases in size, and the rising of the surface slows.

The active lake is much diminished (the palest grey at the fume source) in area, and clots of moku liʻi (small islets) are mostly fixed and slowly grow.

The lake is "only" 203 feet below the rim (green line) of Halemaʻumaʻu, but...

According to my calculations, the loko ahi, 653 deep on January 14, is today 725 feet deep.  An increase of 72 feet in 59 days, averaging 1.2 feet per day.  Lake depth has been "stuck" at 725 feet for 5 days now.  As Iʻve said before, itʻs probably not a good idea to hold your breath Waiting for Overflow.  Way too many variables.

Neither should you hold your breath waiting for Pele to visit Maunaloa.  Too many variables there too.  BUT...those potentially impacted by an eruption of Maunaloa should, at least, have a plan in mind.  

Note, especially, the RED area:  flows can reach houses in hours.  Unless fissures open in yards in places like Hawaiian Ocean View Estates.

The "XX Mm3/d" is Millions of Cubic Meters (erupted) per day.  The orangish area includes the Pōhakuloa Training Area, and the North Kona / South Kohala coast between Kīholo and Puakō.  Think about it.

BELOW:  Would be good if Folks-in-Charge would think too.  Actually, the lava flow isnʻt contributing to poor visibility.  The County officials who decided to use Federal Funds, bulldoze a route, pave to Federal Highway Standards, and reopen Highway 132 on a still-hot flow are the primary contributors.  I was taught:  Lava still hot?  Pele still home!  Leave her alone.

While on Sicily, Etna spectacularly erupts...

And then, had the floods on Maui (and elsewhere, of course)...Hawaiʻi Public Radio had a story by Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi, about Kaupakalua and the flood, and comments by a Mr Joey Caires.

Kaupakalua, Maui, flood

Kuʻuwehi said:  His ʻohana has lived in the area (Kaupakalua) for five generations and he says long-time families have a saying:

"The road of the river is the road of the river.  It might not come 20 years from now, it might not come 50, but when it comes, it takes."

[un]common sense!!!

If more folks Went Outside and Paid Attention, many problems might be averted.  Itʻs only a matter of time, but so many people seem so clueless about their surroundings, where they live, and why particular hiʻohiʻona play a huge role and are important to our wellbeing.

Eric Stinton in Civil Beat Honolulu, Today

Take a breath, Bob...As steams, vapors, mists, rise and waves splash upward...

We can see the boundaries of the loko ahi

And raindrops caught in pepeʻe uluhe unfurling

tkt 031121

Pūnohuokawai: [pūnohu: to rise, as...mist] [of the fresh water].  Turbulent torrent (is that redundant?), "he waikahe ikaika" in Andrews Dictionary, of unseen river and waterfalls, makes mist, much like pounding waves at shore make ʻehukai.

mw 030621

ʻOloʻā:  splashing on rocks, as a rough sea (P/E), mahalo piha mw! And that big rain-falling wind-blowing squall offshore.  Repeating from a previous post:  when I was small, looking out to the ocean from Honokaʻa, I thought that squalls were clouds sucking up water... And then we learn...

And Iʻll never learn too many decimals of pi...but today is Pi Day nevertheless.  Pi = the ratio of a circleʻs circumference to its diameter.  In case youʻre into mental challenges.  Just in case:  March 14 (3.14)... Pi (3.14..........)

That was a good catch-up and wander.

Stay dry, and stay well.  If can, go get vaccine.  

Wear Mask, Socially Distance, Wash Hands.  No Get Lazy!!!

As always, with aloha,

BobbyC

maniniowali@gmail.com