Mauna Loa, the world's largest active volcano, has erupted
Mauna Loa, the world's largest active volcano, has erupted on the Big Island.
Manua Loa forms a twin with Mauna Kea, where the telescopes are.
The main highway, known as the Saddle Road, runs between them.
The Big Island is essentially these two peaks rising from the ocean floor.
The summit of Mauna Loa houses the atmospheric observatories and is
home of the CO2 Keeling Curve, where the longest continual direct CO2
measurements have been taken.
The last major eruption on the Big Island was Kīlauea, further to the south,
in 2018.
How far are the big scopes away from this Gary ? ..Volcanism is a most amazing part of our world..
The optical observatories are about 33km away as the crow flies, but
they are on the neighboring peak. Since its all downhill in every direction
from where the eruption is, the Manua Kea optical observatories will not be
under any direct threat.
However, lava flows are within 6km of the NOAA atmospheric observatories
atop Mauna Loa. There are several other instruments in that vicinity as
well such as the Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System (ATLAS),
which identifies near-Earth asteroids as well as instruments for measuring
the microwave background radiation.
The road to the top of Mauna Loa, Observatory Road, is cut through
the old lava fields which extend over vast areas. If the flows continue,
that road might get cut off.
Snapshots :-
The Observatory Road cutting through the lava fields to the top of Manua Loa.
The view of the summit of Mauna Kea, where the big scopes are, from the summit of Mauna Loa.
The NOAA atmospheric observatory. The premiere location for CO2 readings.
The flow has now crossed what is known as the Observatory Road which is the one that services the NOAA atmospheric observatory, so access to it by road will now be cut off.
"The Northeast Rift Zone eruption of Mauna Loa continues, with several fissures and lava flows active. Several lava flows are traveling in a northeast direction. The longest and largest lava flow is issuing from fissure 3. This lava flow crossed the Mauna Loa Weather Observatory Road at approximately 8 p.m. yesterday evening, November 29, and the flow front was located approximately 6 miles (10 km) from Saddle Road at 7 a.m. HST this morning."
What a magnificent structure Mauna Kea is! Can only imagine the number of eruptions it took to form that baby, from the ocean floor! ...makes my Mt Eagle look like a speed hump
A few more snapshots taken from the summit of Mauna Loa.
Some show the summit of Mauna Kea about 37km away and you can make out the domes.
The smooth profile of Mauna Kea provides for laminar airflow across it and
combined with its 4,207m altitude and its location in the relatively stable
surroundings of the Pacific give this location some of the best seeing on
the planet. Street lighting and exterior lighting is controlled by ordinances
across the entire island. Even in many of the suburban areas where there
is street lighting, the darkness of the sky is very good.
The Ashra detector shown in the second photo is on the Observatory Road close
to the Mauna Loa summit and would be very, very close the the current lava flows.
It was sited there at this unique position for studying the sources of High Energy
Cosmic Ray sources (GRB, etc) as well as potential observations of earth-grazing neutrino
interactions.
At the time I took these photos at sunset, it quickly became bitterly cold.
A few more snapshots taken from the summit of Mauna Loa.
Some show the summit of Mauna Kea about 37km away and you can make out the domes.
The smooth profile of Mauna Kea provides for laminar airflow across it and
combined with its 4,207m altitude and its location in the relatively stable
surroundings of the Pacific give this location some of the best seeing on
the planet. Street lighting and exterior lighting is controlled by ordinances
across the entire island. Even in many of the suburban areas where there
is street lighting, the darkness of the sky is very good.
The Ashra detector shown in the second photo is on the Observatory Road close
to the Mauna Loa summit and would be very, very close the the current lava flows.
It was sited there at this unique position for studying the sources of High Energy
Cosmic Ray sources (GRB, etc) as well as potential observations of earth-grazing neutrino
interactions.
At the time I took these photos at sunset, it quickly became bitterly cold.
Awe inspiring...One thing you would have to be very careful of though, is taking unopened bags of chips and nuts, heck, just about anything sealed near sea level, probably even cans?..up there in your car, they would all pop/explode or distend on the way ...this happens just going up to my observatory
Awe inspiring...One thing you would have to be very careful of though, is taking unopened bags of chips and nuts, heck, just about anything sealed near sea level, probably even cans?..up there in your car, they would all pop/explode or distend on the way ...this happens just going up to my observatory
Mike
Side tracking note:
Doesn't take much, I remember a story from France on the grand opening of the (then?) deepest subway line. After much drinking of the bubble's the dignitary's started to leave and getting violently sick on the way up in the lifts. The gas from the champagne gas was expanding and essentially causing the bends... They had to be sent back down for a few hours...
Similar things happened when they were digging the footings for the Golden Gate bridge. But the workers just died without any booze being consumed, took a while someone clicked...
Awe inspiring...One thing you would have to be very careful of though, is taking unopened bags of chips and nuts, heck, just about anything sealed near sea level, probably even cans?..up there in your car, they would all pop/explode or distend on the way ...this happens just going up to my observatory
Mike
Absolutely! And anything you open and then close at the top, like my
water bottle here, gets mercilessly crushed on the descent.
Mauna Loa itself is impressive by any world standards.
It composes over half of the Big Island and by itself amounts
to about 85% of all the other Hawaiian Islands combined.
It rises gradually 4km above the sea floor but descends a further 5km beneath it.
The sea floor, in turn, is depressed another 8km by its sheer mass.
Together, this makes Mauna Loa the largest volcano on the planet whose summit
stretches some 17km (56,000') above its base. It last erupted in 1984.
The flows then stretched for 50km, falling only 7km short from the east coast town of Hilo.
My daughter was up on Mauna Kea for the sunset and stars a few weeks ago after a big island conference, She mentioned the bitter cold , but the sunset and stars were worth the cold. Some of the volcano view walks over near Mauna Loa she took would be shut now so she was fortunate with timing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gary
A few more snapshots taken from the summit of Mauna Loa.
Some show the summit of Mauna Kea about 37km away and you can make out the domes.
……..
At the time I took these photos at sunset, it quickly became bitterly cold.
My daughter was up on Mauna Kea for the sunset and stars a few weeks ago after a big island conference, She mentioned the bitter cold , but the sunset and stars were worth the cold. Some of the volcano view walks over near Mauna Loa she took would be shut now so she was fortunate with timing.
The USGS reports that on Mauna Loa "sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission rates of approximately 180,000 tonnes per day (t/d) were measured on December 1, 2022."
Now 3.9km from the Saddle Road, flows are advancing at about 13 metres per hour as they reach flatter ground.
Pele's hair (strands of volcanic glass) fragments are being wafted great distances and have been reported as far the Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station.
The USGS reports that on Mauna Loa "sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission rates of approximately 180,000 tonnes per day (t/d) were measured on December 1, 2022."
Now 3.9km from the Saddle Road, flows are advancing at about 13 metres per hour as they reach flatter ground.
Pele's hair (strands of volcanic glass) fragments are being wafted great distances and have been reported as far the Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station.
Mauna Loa itself is impressive by any world standards.
It composes over half of the Big Island and by itself amounts
to about 85% of all the other Hawaiian Islands combined.
It rises gradually 4km above the sea floor but descends a further 5km beneath it.
The sea floor, in turn, is depressed another 8km by its sheer mass.
Together, this makes Mauna Loa the largest volcano on the planet whose summit
stretches some 17km (56,000') above its base. It last erupted in 1984.
The flows then stretched for 50km, falling only 7km short from the east coast town of Hilo.
Mauna Loa in quieter times snapped from the road up to Mauna Kea.
Mauna Loa is so massive there are few places where you can appreciate how big it truly is. The Mauna Kea visitor's centre and surrounds can be seen as specks towards the lower left of the pic.
...makes my Mt Eagle look like a speed hump 
...this happens just going up to my observatory 
