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14 March 2003
From Pu`u `O`o to the Pacific
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| Left. Aerial view looking up Kohola
flow (central part of image), with main Mother's Day flow on right
separated from Kohola by large grassy kipuka.. Pu`u
`O`o is on horizon. Eastern part of Kohola flow took off
in next 20 hours, moving along the edge of the main Mother's Day flow,
eating into the large grassy kipuka, and eventually reaching Wilipe`a lava delta (area seaward of
grassland and outboard of
old sea cliff in lower right) the next morning.
Right. Looking west-southwest west into crater of Pu`u `O`o. Heavy fume
is typical of recent months. |
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| Left. Hornito in fume, almost
surrealistic, at West Gap Pit on west flank of Pu`u `O`o.
Right. Same hornito, but looking less mysterious. This hornito first
appeared at about the time the Mother's Day flow started, in May 2002. |
15 March 2003
Wilipe`a rope meets Ides of March
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| Left. Tongue of Kohola flow has
burned part of rope barrier established by national park to keep visitors
off Wilipe`a lava delta (short distance left of view). Note loop of rope
ash on flow surface. See first image of March 14 for overview of area just
before flow surged seaward. Looking west at 0624. Right. Photo taken from same place as image to left, but turned 45
degrees clockwise, showing tan dust thrown from narrow, preexisting crack
during methane explosion 10 seconds after left image was taken. Explosion
rolled across area, uplifting ground even under and across flow shown to
left. Only fine sand-sized particles were emitted from cracks; no flames
were seen, though flames came from cracks during later methane explosions
in area. 0625. |
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| Left. Lava actively advancing across
downed rope at site near where photographer is standing in upper left
image. Looking east at 0654. Right. Toes of lava spilling from front of flow tongue moving under rope
just west of image to left. Soon after this image was taken, heated rope
collapsed onto flow; its sagging remnant is shown in next images. 0656. |
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| Left. Lava moved swiftly from break in
crust (near left side of image), crusted, and is now rapidly inflating on
flat ground shown ahead of toes in upper right image. 0701:15. Right.
Lava spills from base of inflated toe shown in left image. Camera location
has changed slightly from that when left image was taken. 0702:01. |
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| Left. Same camera location and
settings as used for upper right image but 45 seconds later, showing how
lava spilling from base of inflating toe has merged to form another toe
that is in turn inflating. 0702:46. Right. Overview of lobe of flow
created by toes shown in preceding four images. Sagging rope just left of
support is same as that shown in images above. 0711. |
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| Temperature, warm; wind, calm; sea, smooth;
sky, clear except for clouds on eastern horizon. Two views of sunrise from
location of above images. Left. 0632. Right. 0638. At 0725,
park maintenance man cleaning restroom at end of road helped observer drive
through road barricade. Observer said: "Beautiful morning, isn't it?" The
response after a slight pause, "We're so lucky to be here, aren't
we?" Enough said. |
16 March 2003
Kohola flow near the coast
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| Left. Early sunrise sky over Kohola
flow, near old sea cliff at Wilipe`a lava delta. Flow is sluggish but
slowly inflating and sprouting toes. 0558. Right. Toe coming from
slowly inflating flow, similar to those that interest photographer in left
image. Crust becomes wrinkled where lava slows at foot of moderate slope.
0616. |
17 March 2003
St. Patrick's Day in the Kohola flow
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| Left. Lava in west branch of Kohola
flow moves against tumulus in older flow. Glow from incandescent lava
illuminates standing dead `ohi`a trees, killed by heat from lava several
days ago. Holei Pali in distance. 0606. Right. Tongue of flow moves
past tumulus shown in left image, 13 minutes later. 0615. |
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| Left. Nearly full Worm Moon about to
set behind Holei Pali, above front of large breakout in west branch of
Kohola flow. Lava is moving across vegetated surface, lighting grass and
shrubs on fire. 0543. Right. Amazing sight. Green lava in west
branch of Kohola flow reminds us that today is St. Patrick's Day. 0549 |
20 March 2003
Western end of Kohola flow
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| Left. `Ohi`a tree at margin of
sluggish, inflating west arm of Kohola flow. String of incandescent spots
in background, visible only in large view, defines active surface flow
coming down Pulama pali along main path of Mother's Day flow. 0556. Right.
Looking across inflating west arm of Kohola flow to Pulama pali, where
fume, some smoke, and incandescence (large view) come from long breakout in
main Mother's Day flow spilling over top of pali and traveling almost to
Paliuli (not shown). 0607. |
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| Left. Looking along margin of west arm of Kohola flow,
which spreads across sparsely vegetated surface. In background is Pulama pali, where
fume, some smoke, and incandescence (large view) come from long breakout in
main Mother's Day flow spilling over top of pali and traveling almost to
Paliuli (not shown). Lava in Kohola flow comes from tube within dark flow field
visible in upper center of image below fuming flow. 0610. Right.
Crust on inflating tongue of lava is cracking, and lava is just starting to
well out. Note ash from burned grass littering crust; grass is burned at
flow front and picked up as lava oozes from under the crust. 0617:17. |
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| Left. Head-on view of same crack as in
upper right, 29 seconds later. 0617:46. Right. Broader view of
inflating and cracking flow tongue 2.5 minutes later. Second crack is
forming in crust of lava that oozed from first. 0620:16. |
21 March 2003
Carlitos and Son of Cookie Monster
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| Left. Setting of Son of Cookie Monster
skylight, near source of Mother's Day flow. Right. HVO volunteer
using radar gun to measure velocity of lava visible through Son of Cookie
Monster skylight. |
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| Left. Small hornitos (affectionately
known by the informal term, carlito) near Son of Cookie Monster. Can you
see an elephant with its trunk raised as if to better sniff the sulfurous
air? Width of image, about 1.5 m. Right. More bizarre carlitos in
Son of Cookie Monster area. Tallest hornito, about 30 cm high. |
26 March 2003
Lava in Kohola flow near huge ahu
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| Left. Toe of lava working its way down
moderate slope from breakout point in inflating Kohola flow, 50 m from huge
ahu. Width of toe front, about 1 m. 0616. Right. Same toe as in left
image but almost 4 minutes later, poised to drop into small crack. Width of
front, about 20 cm. 0619:45. |
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| Left. Same toe as above right but 10
seconds later, just after lava started to drop slowly into crack. Note that
wrinkles are already forming in crust, as lava abuts against opposite side
of crack 0619:55. Right. Huge ahu and dead `ohi`a tree in small
kipuka surrounded by Kohola flow. An ahu is a pile of rocks; most ahu are
less than 1 m high. This one is 2 m high and serves as a marker along a
land boundary. This ahu has been a landmark for years; it is now endangered
as the surrounding Kohola flow inflates and nears it. |
28 March 2003
New breakout in Kohola flow
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| Left. Lava developing deeply furrowed
crust as it spills from new breakout across buried Chain of Craters Road.
Width of view, about 2 m. 0617. Right. Several inflating toes, three
of which are having small breakouts. Width of view nearest camera, about 3
m. 0622. |
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| Left. Lava spilling from within
inflating flow and trying to decide which way to go. Note folds in crust at
lava abuts sloping surface. Wrinkled toe is about 1 m wide. 0626. Right.
Two minutes later, small toe near base of left image has blossomed into
larger toe that is carrying most of lava. Width of toe, about 1 m. 0628. |
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| Left. Breakout has buried tiny kipuka
of Chain of Craters Road. Asphalt burns, flame and dirty smoke appearing
through crack in crust. Flame is 20-30 cm high. 0619. Right. Lava
flow following along road cut, with more lava in distance. 0625. |
30 March 2003
Lava in Kohola flow at end of road
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| Left. Lava nears graveled shoulder at
current end of Chain of Craters Road. In background, incandescent surface
lava, fume, and smoke are visible on Pulama pali. 0608. Right.
Looking west along roadway, showing proximity of active lava flow. "No
Parking" sign has meaning this morning. 0610. |
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| Left. Active lava toe within
conversation distance of road. 0612. Right. Deeply furrowed crust on
moving toe along western edge of new breakout near road. Width of view,
about 2 m. 0614. |
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| Left. Lava sets fire to clumps of
grass along western edge of breakout in Kohola flow near end of Chain of
Craters Road. 0618. Right. Rising sun, muted through mist, looks
down on sluggish breakout near end of road. 0620. |
31 March 2003
Lava on the pali and at the road
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| Left. Long surface flow on Pulama
pali, part of main Mother's Day flow, casts bright glow into misty sky.
0542. Right. Broken tumulus, with upended slabs of crust, indicates
large methane explosion. This was present yesterday morning and was
probably caused by nearby lava on Saturday night. Area is about 50 m or so
from roadway. 0627. |
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| Left. Visitors at point where,
overnight, lava barely crept onto shoulder of Chain of Craters Road.
Compare with upper right image taken on March 30. 0610. Right.
Visitors stroll along pavement of Chain of Craters Road as lava breaks out
from inflating flow a few meters away. This site is very near that of large
methane explosions shown in upper right image. 0613. |
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| Developing lava toe from exactly same tripod
setup and camera magnification. Note the grass stem in both images. Width of
image, about 50 cm. Left. Lava is pouring from break in crust of
inflating flow (off top of image) and just touching flat, grassy surface.
Note how wrinkles in crust are barely forming. 0615:29. Right. Fifty
seconds later, crust has cooled, thickened, and developed definite
corrugations as free flow of lava is impeded by flat, grassy surface.
0616:19. |
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| Two views of sheet flow spilling down front
of Kohola flow near Chain of Craters Road. Left. Wrinkles are
starting to form as flow just touches flat surface and slows. Width of
front of stream, about 40 cm. 0618:37. Right. Only 1.3 minutes
later, front of flow has reached grassy flat and is rapidly spreading and
developing wrinkled crust as it nestles against cooler flow margin. Width
of front, about 1.5 m. 0620:00. |
15 March 2003
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March 15, 2003; 0659. Broad toe of lava moves
across rope that formed barrier for access to Wilipe`a lava delta.
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March 15, 2003; 0702. Lava breaks out of inflated
toe and moves down moderate slope with rolling motion, top faster than
bottom. See still images for this day; sagging rope gives scale.
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March 15, 2003; 0710. Continued movement of lava
across rope barrier. Muffled sounds of a long-lasting, migrating methane
explosion can be heard about two-thirds of the way through the clip,
followed by a "Wow."
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28 March 2003
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March 28, 2003; 0630. Lava moves rapidly from
under crust of inflating flow and finally disappears under overhang. Length
of flowing toe, about 1 m.
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Map of flows from Pu`u `O`o: 21 March 2003
Map shows lava flows erupted during 1983-present activity of Pu`u `O`o
and Kupaianaha (see
large map). Red colors, both dark and light, denote Mother's Day flow, which
began erupting on May 12, 2002. Different shades of red indicate different
stages of activity of Mother's Day flow. These different stages are still
considered part of Mother's Day flow, because they all come from same tube
system near base of Pu`u `O`o.
Most recent--and ongoing--activity has produced two slender,
dark red flows, one along western edge of flow field and one slightly farther
east. Kohola flow, along western margin, entered sea late on Valentine's Day to
form Kohola ocean entry. Lava is slowly widening Kohola flow eastward on March
21. Visitors now can drive to Holei Sea Arch, 1.1 km from Kohola flow, and walk
to see flow.
Other dark red flow is also active part of Mother's Day flow. Fed by
breakouts from lava tube in main Mother's Day flow, it had advanced along
eastern margin of main flow and down Pulama pali to about 800-foot elevation by
March 21. This flow is visible during darkness from Chain of Craters Road.
Lava from main Mother's Day flow (light red) reached sea at West Highcastle early on July 19, at Wilipe`a early on
July 21, and at Highcastle on August 8. From near southwest base of Pu`u `O`o, Mother's Day flow passes along west side of flow field and into forest, where it started large wildfire in May that continued into late July. By June 10,
Mother's Day flow had reached base
of Paliuli, the steep slope and cliff below Pulama pali and just above coastal flat. At base of Paliuli, Mother's Day flow abruptly spread
laterally in series of small budding flows to cover an area nearly 2 km
wide, gradually moving seaward until West Highcastle and Wilipe`a lobes
finally reached water and started building lava deltas. Activity at West
Highcastle ended in early August, but entry began soon thereafter at Highcastle,
eventually burying tiny kipuka of Chain of Craters Road. Wilipe`a entry
died away slowly and had ended by mid-August. Highcastle and neighboring
Highcastle Stairs entries ended on about August 23. For a time there were no
active entries. Then Wilipe`a was reactivated on September 3 but stopped in
December. West Highcastle likewise renewed activity on September
16-17, died away during night of September 18-19, and returned soon
thereafter to continue through March 21. East arm of Mother's Day flow
branched from Highcastle lobe in late October and sent three fingers into ocean
at Highcastle on November 15, West Lae`apuki on November 19, and Lae`apuki on
November 20. Lae`apuki entries had stopped by November 29. If this sounds
like soap opera, the truth is even more confusing than the simplified version
of activity given here.
Eruption-viewing opportunities change constantly, refer to the HVO home page for
current information. Those readers planning a visit to Kilauea or Mauna Loa volcanoes can get much useful
information from Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.
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