New Fiery Eruption At Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano
Fountains from the north vent have grown from 50 feet to more than 250 feet high in an hour's time and are feeding multiple lava streams, the observatory said. Active lava flows now cover approximately 15 to 20 percent of the crater floor.
There's no immediate threat to any structures nearby.
Volcanic activity at the summit of Kilauea, within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, has been intermittent over the past few weeks.
The initial eruption began Dec. 23 in the southwestern part of the caldera, which is a large basin-shaped volcanic depression that houses volcanic vents. Magma erupts and volcanic gases are emitted from those vents.
This latest episode began on Feb. 3, according to the Hawaii Volcano Observatory. It was preceded by small, sporadic spatter fountains that began Feb. 2, which then increased into the following day, when sustained fountaining began, the observatory said.
Each episode of Halemaʻumaʻu lava fountaining since Dec. 23 has continued for between 13 hours and eight days, according to the latest Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Status Report by the U.S. Geological Survey. The eight episodes have been separated by pauses in eruptive activity lasting less than 24 hours to 12 days.
Western Monarch Butterflies Near Record Low
Frozen Bubbles, Ice Flowers Put On A Winter Show
What Lake Stars Are, And How They Form
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
3 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Coastal communities restoring marshes, dunes, reefs to protect against rising seas and storm surges
In San Francisco Bay, salt ponds created more than a century ago are reverting to marshland. Along the New York and New Jersey coasts, beaches ravaged by Superstorm Sandy underwent extensive restoration. In Alabama, a rebuilt spit of land is shielding a historic town and providing wildlife habitat. Coastal communities nationwide are ramping up efforts to fend off rising seas, higher tides and stronger storm surges that are chewing away at coastlines, pushing saltwater farther inland and threatening ecosystems and communities. The need for coastal restoration has been in the spotlight this month after Louisiana officials canceled a $3 billion project because of objections from the fishing industry and concerns about rising costs. The Mid-Barataria project was projected to rebuild more than 20 square miles (32 square kilometers) of land over about 50 years by diverting sediment-laden water from the Mississippi River. But work continues on many other projects in Louisiana and around the country, including barrier islands, saltwater marshes, shellfish reefs and other natural features that provided protection before they were destroyed or degraded by development. Communities are also building flood walls, berms and levees to protect areas that lack adequate natural protection. The work has become more urgent as climate change causes more intense and destructive storms and leads to sea-level rise that puts hundreds of communities and tens of millions of people at risk, scientists say. 'The sooner we can make these coastlines more resilient the better,' said Doug George, a geological oceanographer at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Gulf Coast In the U.S., perhaps nowhere is more vulnerable than the hurricane-prone Gulf Coast. Louisiana alone has lost more than 2,000 square miles (5,180 square kilometers) of coastline — more than any other state — over the past century, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Historically, sediment deposited by the Mississippi and other rivers rebuilt land and nourished shore-buffering marshes. But that function was disrupted by the construction of channels and levees, along with other development. The dangers were magnified in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina breached flood walls and levees, submerging 80% of New Orleans and killing almost 1,400 people — followed closely by Hurricane Rita. Afterward, the state formed the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority to lessen risks from storm surges and stem land loss. Most of the almost $18 billion spent in the past 20 years was to shore up levees, flood walls and other structures, the authority said. Dozens of other projects are completed, planned or underway, including rebuilding marshes and other habitat with sediment dredged from waterways and restoring river flow to areas that have lacked it for years. On Louisiana's Chandeleur Islands, a barrier island chain, the state will pump in sand to help rebuild them, which will dampen storm surges and benefit sea turtles and other wildlife, said Katie Freer-Leonards, who leads development of the state's 2029 coastal master plan. The authority is digging a channel to allow water and sediment from the Mississippi River to flow into part of Maurepas Swamp, a roughly 218-square-mile forested wetland northwest of New Orleans that has been 'dying for over a century' because of levees, project manager Brad Miller said. Sediment dredged from elsewhere also has been pumped into thousands of acres of sinking marshes to nourish them and raise their levels. The same is happening in other states. In Bayou La Batre, Alabama — a fishing village built in the late 1700s — The Nature Conservancy built breakwaters offshore, then pumped in sediment and built ridges, now covered with vegetation. That created a 'speed bump' that has helped protect the town from erosion, said Judy Haner, the Alabama Nature Conservancy's coastal programs director. The conservancy and others also have been creating miles of oyster reefs, and are acquiring tracts of land away from the coast to allow habitats to move as seawater encroaches. Such efforts won't prevent all land losses, but in Louisiana, 'cumulatively, they could make a big difference," said Denise Reed, a research scientist who is working on Louisiana's coastal master plan. 'It could buy us some time.' Pacific Coast On the West Coast, communities vulnerable to sea-level rise also could see more flooding from increasingly intense atmospheric rivers, which carry water vapor from the ocean and dump huge amounts of rain in a short period of time. So tidal marshes and estuaries drained for agriculture and industry are being restored along the entire coast, both for habitat and coastal protection. Habitat restoration, not climate change, was the primary consideration when planning began about 20 years ago to restore marshland along the south end of San Francisco Bay, destroyed when ponds were created to harvest sea salt. But as sediment naturally fills in ponds and marsh plants return, 'we're realizing that ... marshes absorb wave energy, storm surge and the force of high tides,' said Dave Halsing, executive project manager at the California State Coastal Conservancy. That helps protect whatever is behind them, including sea walls and land that otherwise could be inundated or washed away, including some of California's most expensive real estate, near Silicon Valley. Projects also are underway along Alaska's coast and in Hawaii, where native residents are rebuilding ancient rocky enclosures originally intended to trap fish, but which also protect against storm surge. Atlantic Coast Thirteen years after Superstorm Sandy swamped the Atlantic coast, communities still are restoring natural buffers and building other protective structures. Sandy began as a fairly routine hurricane in the fall of 2012 before merging with other storms, stretching for a record 1,000 miles and pushing enormous amounts of ocean water into coastal communities. But the threat of future storm surges could be even greater because sea levels in some areas could rise as much as three feet within 50 years, said Donald E. Cresitello, a coastal engineer and senior coastal planner for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps rebuilt beaches, dunes and human-made structures from Massachusetts to Virginia and now is turning to areas farther inland that are increasingly vulnerable to more powerful storm surges, Cresitello said. 'If there's a river coming to the coast, that storm surge has the potential to just ride up that river," depending on the storm, he said. A 'phenomenal amount' of the U.S. population lives and works along its coasts, so protecting those areas is important to the U.S. economy, said George, the NOAA scientist. But it is also important to preserve generations of culture, he said. 'When you think about why people should care ... it's a whole way of life,' George said. ___
Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
What's behind the more than 130 small earthquakes hitting Northern California
A series of more than 100 earthquakes has hit Northern California, shaking up the Geysers geothermal steam field in Sonoma and Lake counties. Since Thursday, at least 131 earthquakes have been recorded — as small as magnitude 0.2 and as big as magnitude 4. The largest earthquake was recorded at 5:48 a.m. Thursday, with an epicenter 10 miles east of Cloverdale, 20 miles northwest of Calistoga and 26 miles north of Santa Rosa. Small earthquakes are common in the Geysers geothermal steam field. The Geysers-Clear Lake area is one of California's eight volcanic areas, and the Geysers team field — on the southwest area of the volcanic field — is home to one of the world's most productive geothermal power facilities, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Power is produced using the steam generated from the volcanic field. (Despite its name, no geysers exist in the Geysers-Clear Lake area, the USGS says.) The Geysers provide electricity to Sonoma, Mendocino, Lake, Marin and Napa counties, the agency says, and power has been generated from the area since 1960. Northern California's greatest seismic hazard are on faults, like the San Andreas and Healdsburg-Rodgers Creek faults, which are miles away from this geothermal field, according to the USGS. 'Activities associated with the withdrawal of steam for producing electric power cause or induce small quakes to occur in the field,' the agency says. One possible reason for that, the USGS says, is that taking away steam and heat from the steam field can 'cause the surrounding rock to contract, which in turn can induce earthquakes as a result of the contractional stresses.' Also, reclaimed cold water from Santa Rosa and Lake County is pumped to the Geysers, and it interacting with hot rock appears to be 'a significant factor in inducing the earthquakes,' the agency says. The USGS says that the largest quake to hit the Geysers area was about a magnitude 4.5. 'It is possible that a magnitude 5 could occur, but larger earthquakes are thought to be unlikely. In order for a larger earthquake to occur, it is necessary that a large fault exist,' the USGS says, and 'at the Geysers, no such continuous fault is known to exist.'
Miami Herald
5 days ago
- Miami Herald
Small NC town sees 3 quakes over 4 days, USGS says. What's causing it?
A tiny mountain town in North Carolina has seen three earthquakes over four days, and it appears to be part of a trend in 2025, U.S. Geological Survey data shows. Rosman, with a population of about 750, had two quakes on Saturday, Aug. 9, and the third came Tuesday, Aug. 12, the USGS says. They ranged from 1.8 magnitude to 2.1, and were centered west of town at depths of as much as 2.8 miles below the surface, experts say. Earthquakes that low in magnitude are typically not felt by humans, but four people reported feeling shaking during the 1.8 quake on Saturday, and one person reported felt the 2.1 quake, the USGS says. Earthquakes are not common in the area, with only a dozen reported in the past 25 years, all minor. However, the odd thing is, eight of the 12 occurred this year, the biggest being a 2.4 on March 30, the USGS says. Explaining that uptick is a challenge, given the region sits in the middle of the North American tectonic plate rather than along a volatile fault zone line, according to the Center for Earthquake Research and Information at the University of Memphis. Still, the Appalachian Mountains are remnants of ancient tectonic activity dating back hundreds of millions of years, and it left the region 'littered with many ancient faults that are no longer active,' the center says. While the region is considered relatively stable, the North American plate remains 'under compression,' which can result in an ancient fault slipping on occasion, the center reports. The result is often minor trimmers, but larger quakes have occurred in recent years, including a 5.1 magnitude in Sparta, N.C., back in 2020. Rosman is about a 150-mile drive west from Charlotte. What to know about earthquakes Magnitude measures the energy released at the source of the earthquake, the U.S. Geological Survey says. It replaces the old Richter scale. Quakes between 2.5 and 5.4 magnitude are often felt but rarely cause much damage, according to Michigan Tech. Quakes below 2.5 magnitude are seldom felt by most people. Earthquakes' sudden, rapid shaking can cause fires, tsunamis, landslides or avalanches. They can happen anywhere, but they're most common in Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Puerto Rico and Washington, according to the Department of Homeland Security. If an earthquake strikes, it's best to protect yourself right away. Here are tips from experts: If you're in a car: Pull over and stop. Set your parking you're in bed: Turn face-down and cover your head with a you're outdoors: Stay away from buildings. Don't go you're inside: Stay and don't run outdoors. Stay away from doorways.
