Thursday, March 4, 2021 Tantalizing Tangential Distractions

 Perhaps itʻs ADD or merely a case of excessive curiosities, but sometimes itʻs exceedingly difficult to get on, and remain on track.  But we keep trying.  Iʻve been working on a complex blog about Waikoʻolihilihi, and attempting to keep various strands of thought from getting too tangled.  But then other bright ideas pop to the fore, and...

So please stay tuned.  After a week of blusteriness, and wearying damp cold rains and winds, yesterday was a stellar (thanks gh!) day!!!  Stellar.  Clear blue-skied, though cool in the shade, but sun made all happy.  Today is much the same as yesterday.  Below, from HVO.  Almost sparkling.

The loko ahi as of today, March 4, 2021, is 722 feet deep.  By my notes and calculations, Halemʻumaʻu was 929 feet deep at the start of the current work of Pele on December 20, 2020.  That makes 207 feet to First Overflow, onto the kaulu (ledge), the lowest one seen on the far side of the lake.  But.  Please donʻt engage in breath-holding.  The loko ahi was 653 feet deep on January 14.  Iʻll let you noodle with math.  Note, though, that the enclosing walls slope outward, making incremental rise slower and slower.

A distraction yesterday was learning of a Report in "Nature Communications":  "Land, Lava, and Disaster create a social dilemma after the 2018 eruption of Kīlauea volcano".

Big Island Video News [BIVN]

But itʻs a distraction of the most excellent sort.  A relatively short, easy to read paper about Volcanic Hazard, Inexpensive Land, and Consequences.  The link on BIVN is easy to follow, as is downloading the pdf.  As much as I try, those In Charge seem not inclined to listen or pay attention to serious concerns regarding "Rebuilding" or development in Puna ma kai.  The kindest part of me thinks that the problem is so complex and difficult, that folks rather ignore problematic issues.

BIVN also has a piece on just-released nearly $84 million of Federal Funds (our money) to be used for a voluntary housing buyout and relocation program for those affected by pele in 2018.   

As noted in the Update, the entire crust is rising, and as it does, pele leaks out along the edges, as at that short bright section upper left.  The hot surface of the loko ahi continues to diminish in size.  Slowly, but surely... it seems, over time, that activity is slowly slowly waning.  But what do I know?

Above is Two Day Tilt graph.  Wondering if the jiggle towards the end is a teleseism (a signal from a faraway ōlaʻi) of the M8.1 Kermadec Islands quake this morning, one of three today near Aotearoa.  Scary.  830a Friday Aotearoa = 930a Thursday Hawaiʻi...

 Below, for the last Month.

I remembered yesterday that the D-I Events, the downs and ups on the graph above, were happening pre-December 20, 2020.  I donʻt think that we should correlate them too closely with activities in Halemaʻumaʻu, though they may track similarly.  If Pelehonuamea pauses surface activity, the D-I Events may very well continue.  I think.

Itʻs all so very interesting... more soon.

As always, with aloha,

BobbyC

maniniowali@gmail.com