5 ms·

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory: Kīlauea – Current Maps

59 points by curtis 8y ago

sytelus 8y ago
Are there any good accessible spots to watch lava flow - especially entering the ocean? Looks like Kona airport is still open!
- jgh 8y ago
  You can probably rent a boat to go see the ocean entry, I think hiking to the spot is probably not all that safe.
  - giancarlostoro 8y ago
    I'd rather watch from the safe distance of YouTube if you're going to walk there on land or something.
  - kurthr 8y ago
    Helicopters are much easier to rent, if you only want to spend an hour looking.
- jcranmer 8y ago
  The entire lower Puna area is open to residents only to facilitate evacuation should it become necessary. The main road into the area is suffering from massive cracking and SO₂ emissions. The other main road is only a hundred meters or so from one of the inactive lava flows. One of the minor connecting roads is now buried under lava, and the final one is an unpaved dirt road. The nearby ocean is closed off to boats due to laze (that's steam mixed with hydrochloric acid and glass shards) hazard.
- joshuahedlund 8y ago
  Most of the island is fine at the moment, but lava flow access from the erupting area is likely neither legal nor safe at this time, though conditions could change in the future. https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g29217-i268-k11576894-An_Advisory_re_potentially_Illegal_lava_boat_tours-Island_of_Hawaii_Hawaii.html https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g29217-i268-k11576894-...
  - tunap 8y ago
    Is there line-of-sight from Mauna Loa? That would be a great bird's eye view, if possible. Of course, bring your telescope would apply.
    - jcranmer 8y ago
      Probably not. The height is above the cloud layer, and the flanks could well have too gradual a slope to see anything (as a result of being a shield volcano).
    - yks 8y ago
      The eruption zone glows red at night
- jblazevic 8y ago
  I was there just 5 days ago on an aircraft tour which flew directly above the fissures. We landed in Kona normally. The lava fountains are awe-inspiring. Here's what I was able to record: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Pn1MiYB5KQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Pn1MiYB5KQ
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
cmpb 8y ago
Tangent: USGS is an incredible resource for those interested in the geosciences. Their website has grown a lot in the past few years, before which it was already replete with tons of great stuff! Seems like a cool place to work
- codyb 8y ago
  They also have a ton of APIs available [0]. Way more than I figured, I just assumed because the earthquake monitoring app I check out every now and again uses USGS data but there’s a lot here! Glad you brought this up or I never would have searched for it. [0] - https://www.usgs.gov/products/data-and-tools/apis https://www.usgs.gov/products/data-and-tools/apis
24gttghh 8y ago
Some of my favorite videos from the ongoing eruption, of methane burning out of the cracks in the roads: https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/vsc/movies/movie_173961.html https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/vsc/movies/movie_173961.html the big flow that recently reached the ocean: https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/vsc/movies/movie_173953.html https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/vsc/movies/movie_173953.html
- ISL 8y ago
  Wow. Both of those are incredible; the first is unexpected, the fountains in the background of the second are incredible.
- microtherion 8y ago
  I've been wondering: who owns the new land created by the flow entering the ocean (minuscule amount though it probably is)?
  - jcranmer 8y ago
    Short answer: the state of Hawaii does. Longer answer: the matter was decided in State by Kobayashi v. Zimring in 1977 (Supreme Court of Hawaii). They found that there was no applicable common law precedent, since land created by eruptions that impacts private title is very rare. The only precedent they found in Hawaii dates to 1877 (before Hawaii was US territory!) and it's not clear how to generalize it (note that Hawaiian land was the property of the King at the time). The closest thing is accretion by riverbanks and the like, which everyone in the case agreed wasn't particularly relevant. The court basically said "we're making completely new law here, so we can do whatever we want" and chose granting the land to the public interest as the proper solution.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
eddyg 8y ago
There's a live video feed from a residence about a half a mile from fissures 20 and 17: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtihmXFWqGo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtihmXFWqGo
glitcher 8y ago
Would love to see a timelapse of those thermal maps! I wonder if there are enough images of them over time to create a smooth-ish animation?
bitL 8y ago
Do you think Leilani Estates will meet the same fate as Kalapana? Seems like the fissure 20 became a new volcanic vent in the middle of the settlement. I wish I could be there right now with a filming permit; last time I was filming there the flow was underwhelming, ceasing ocean entry and even Pu`u`o`o's lava lake was not very active. Does anyone know what is the permit situation regarding drones these days?
bitL 8y ago
Another nice video (channel): https://vimeo.com/271418485 https://vimeo.com/271418485

59 points by curtis 8y ago

Are there any good accessible spots to watch lava flow - especially entering the ocean? Looks like Kona airport is still open!

jgh 8y ago
You can probably rent a boat to go see the ocean entry, I think hiking to the spot is probably not all that safe.
- giancarlostoro 8y ago
  I'd rather watch from the safe distance of YouTube if you're going to walk there on land or something.
- kurthr 8y ago
  Helicopters are much easier to rent, if you only want to spend an hour looking.
jcranmer 8y ago
The entire lower Puna area is open to residents only to facilitate evacuation should it become necessary. The main road into the area is suffering from massive cracking and SO₂ emissions. The other main road is only a hundred meters or so from one of the inactive lava flows. One of the minor connecting roads is now buried under lava, and the final one is an unpaved dirt road. The nearby ocean is closed off to boats due to laze (that's steam mixed with hydrochloric acid and glass shards) hazard.
joshuahedlund 8y ago
Most of the island is fine at the moment, but lava flow access from the erupting area is likely neither legal nor safe at this time, though conditions could change in the future. https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g29217-i268-k11576894-An_Advisory_re_potentially_Illegal_lava_boat_tours-Island_of_Hawaii_Hawaii.html https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g29217-i268-k11576894-...
- tunap 8y ago
  Is there line-of-sight from Mauna Loa? That would be a great bird's eye view, if possible. Of course, bring your telescope would apply.
  - jcranmer 8y ago
    Probably not. The height is above the cloud layer, and the flanks could well have too gradual a slope to see anything (as a result of being a shield volcano).
  - yks 8y ago
    The eruption zone glows red at night
jblazevic 8y ago
I was there just 5 days ago on an aircraft tour which flew directly above the fissures. We landed in Kona normally. The lava fountains are awe-inspiring. Here's what I was able to record: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Pn1MiYB5KQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Pn1MiYB5KQ
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

cmpb 8y ago

Tangent: USGS is an incredible resource for those interested in the geosciences. Their website has grown a lot in the past few years, before which it was already replete with tons of great stuff! Seems like a cool place to work

codyb 8y ago
They also have a ton of APIs available [0]. Way more than I figured, I just assumed because the earthquake monitoring app I check out every now and again uses USGS data but there’s a lot here! Glad you brought this up or I never would have searched for it. [0] - https://www.usgs.gov/products/data-and-tools/apis https://www.usgs.gov/products/data-and-tools/apis

24gttghh 8y ago

Some of my favorite videos from the ongoing eruption, of methane burning out of the cracks in the roads: https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/vsc/movies/movie_173961.html https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/vsc/movies/movie_173961.html the big flow that recently reached the ocean: https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/vsc/movies/movie_173953.html https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/vsc/movies/movie_173953.html

ISL 8y ago
Wow. Both of those are incredible; the first is unexpected, the fountains in the background of the second are incredible.
microtherion 8y ago
I've been wondering: who owns the new land created by the flow entering the ocean (minuscule amount though it probably is)?
- jcranmer 8y ago
  Short answer: the state of Hawaii does. Longer answer: the matter was decided in State by Kobayashi v. Zimring in 1977 (Supreme Court of Hawaii). They found that there was no applicable common law precedent, since land created by eruptions that impacts private title is very rare. The only precedent they found in Hawaii dates to 1877 (before Hawaii was US territory!) and it's not clear how to generalize it (note that Hawaiian land was the property of the King at the time). The closest thing is accretion by riverbanks and the like, which everyone in the case agreed wasn't particularly relevant. The court basically said "we're making completely new law here, so we can do whatever we want" and chose granting the land to the public interest as the proper solution.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

eddyg 8y ago

There's a live video feed from a residence about a half a mile from fissures 20 and 17: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtihmXFWqGo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtihmXFWqGo

glitcher 8y ago

Would love to see a timelapse of those thermal maps! I wonder if there are enough images of them over time to create a smooth-ish animation?

bitL 8y ago

Do you think Leilani Estates will meet the same fate as Kalapana? Seems like the fissure 20 became a new volcanic vent in the middle of the settlement. I wish I could be there right now with a filming permit; last time I was filming there the flow was underwhelming, ceasing ocean entry and even Pu`u`o`o's lava lake was not very active. Does anyone know what is the permit situation regarding drones these days?

bitL 8y ago

Another nice video (channel): https://vimeo.com/271418485 https://vimeo.com/271418485