October 1, 2021, Friday. E Pele e, huaʻina hoʻi!

 Just in case youʻre awakening from a very long nap and missed the news, Pelehonuamea herself awakened from a nap in her home, Halemaʻumaʻu, at 321p, Wednesday, September 29, 2021.  

After an interesting dampchill summer, weʻve recently enjoyed clear hot days up here.  Above was last Saturday, 25 Sept at 1152a, taken from my usual perch on my usual pōhaku - the smooth flat one - on the stone wall at Keanakākoʻi.  I was there again Wednesday, having happily resumed my habit of several times a week walks.  And, I left at about 1p for my return to the parking lot.  And...

The last line in a chant, documented by Emerson, in "Pele and Hiʻiaka, A Myth from Hawaiʻi" of course came to mind for many of us.

The phrase "E nihi ka hele..." is the first line in the hui of a favorite song, the following from huapala.org

And, after a respite of 4 months, I began screenshotting.  The views of Halemaʻumaʻu here, and in most all media, are from images courtesy the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.  Webcam screenshots, photos from the rim in the CLOSED AREA of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, and aerial imagery captured by HVO overflights

Below was captured at 414p, an hour or so after Pele awoke.  

The Legend for the colored dots above:

And fortunately, I had the presence of mind to get the following three, also on Wednesday afternoon:

Main thing to note is the amount of pele (molten lava) being erupted.  Fast and furious, with accompanying thick clouds of fume.  Fume...that noxious mixture of mostly water vapor dissolved in magma, but with sulphurs and other nasty chemicals too...  Itʻs not "smoke" from burning wood or what-la; neither is it purely "steam".  Itʻs fume...

Then after the initial gush and release of pent up pressure and energy, Pele settles in for whatever the duration will be of her current work.  Folks wonder:  "How long will it last?"  Readers familiar may respond in chorus: "Till she stops". 

I was heartened to see that what some of us recognize as a form of Kamapuaʻa, a suitor of Pele who often assumed the body of a pig, remained from earlier this year, to greet her.  He is a moku, an island, formerly adrift, that got stuck as the surface of the loko ahi, the lava lake, solidified.

Yesterday earlymorning, Pele was settling in...less fume, fewer fountains, and they werenʻt as high...

And rainbows are always a welcome addition to any scene.

That initial gush of pele is reflected in a graph of the deepening lake.  Note that Depth is in Meters.  

One meter = 3.2 feet...

And why is that important?  Because...

We wonʻt be able to safely and legally see pele until the loko ahi rises to the 800m green line as depicted below.  More or less.  Calculations madden me, but a note on the HVO site had the lake at 754m on Wednesday afternoon.

And the UPDATE from HVO yesterday afternoon:

Please NOTE:  Rate of rising of lake will likely decrease, as volume erupted decreases.  If patterns are repeated.  Too, Halemaʻumaʻu widens as you climb toward the rim, so each increment of lakerise takes longer.  Just gotta wait to see what we can see.

September 13, 2021, at 1113a, below was the view from the survey station at Uēkahuna, the designated summit of Kīlauea.  Uēkahuna is the summit plateau of Kīlauea.  Itʻs not that big, but now is home to a parking lot, and buildings that former housed the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and the Jaggar Museum, as well as a tall, linear berm erected to shield the buildings from certain vantage points.  But I digress...

See that bright yellow streak of sulphur near the bottom of the image?

Kinda hard to make out, paha, but above, the yellow streak is on the left wall of Halemaʻumaʻu.  Photo above yesterday (9/30) morning.  We wait to see what is revealed.

Early this morning:

View South-ish:

View North-ish.  Kama still there...

And below, as seen this morning from the Maunaloa Strip Road, brisk trades blow polalauahi (voggyfume) toward Kaʻū...

pola.lau.ahi 

n. Haze, as during a volcanic eruption. Rare.

During the excitements at the rapid, kinda unexpected appearance of Pele, we forget unpleasant consequences.  Like vog.  And its related breathing issues, and headaches, and decreased rainfall, and...

And then you go Hilo early in the morning as I did yesterday, and even though icky ikiiki airs were noted, not until I was down the hill and saw the blued air, and smelled the stench, and quickly the headache started...yup, Sheʻs back...

Go look around the HVO website.  "Multimedia" is where the photos and video live.  And "Monitoring"  is for ʻōlaʻi (earthquake) info, Tilt, etc...

Kīlauea info

Week-long Tilt:

The big UpDown were the two ʻōlaʻi, just before 3p on Wednesday, that preceded the eruption.

OK then.  Gotta get ready to go nānā whatever there is to see.  If you venture to our uplands, please

E nihi ka hele

Tread lightly.  Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park is not Disneyland.  For many of us Ke Ao Pelehonuamea (The Realm of Pele) is a place of wonder and awe.  Please be respectful of Place and of other visitors.  Many donʻt seem to know that you can hear Her.  Keep voices hushed.  Be aware of your surroundings.  And bring jacket!

As always, with aloha,

BobbyC

maniniowali@gmail.com