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| Glow from lava exiting Fissure 8 and traveling to the ocean casts an orange glow across the sky. The moon shines through gases and laze, to the right. Read about what scientists have discovered about the lava that has destroyed so much while creating more land. See more below in Volcano Watch. USGS photo |
THE SECOND ANNUAL MĀLAMA NĀ KEIKI FESTIVAL on Saturday in Nā`ālehu offered a variety of resources for families, with a focus on health, especially for keiki and expectant mothers. One important resource presented is access to healthy, fresh food.
Ho`olaha Ka Hua, Da Box program, is both a retail and a SNAP/EBT-friendly community-supported agriculture program, open to everyone. It was created to provide affordable access to fresh, produce, and to support local farmers. Hawai`i Food Basket purchases Hawai`i Island grown produce from local farmers and resells to customers island-wide.
Each once-weekly produce bag costs $16, and consists of a minimum of seven items, generally one to two fruits and five to six vegetables. SNAP/EBT customers get half-off every other bag. The program offers a weekly delivery to a general pick-up location, with Ka`ū locations at Kahuku Park at Paradise Mauka Circle in Ocean View, and at Cooper Center at 19-4030 Wright Rd. in Volcano Village.
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| Da Box fresh, local produce program is available to everyone, island-wide. Photo by Geneveve Fyvie |
Sign up or see more details at hawaiifoodbasket.org.
There are also food pantries for those in need. Ka`ū Food Pantries are:
- Ka`ū Food Pantry in Ocean View at St. Jude's on the last Tuesday of the month from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Loaves and Fishes in Nā`ālehu at Sacred Heart -- 95-558 Mamalahoa Hwy -- on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month from 9 to 11 a.m.
- Ka`ū District Gym in Pāhala – 96-1149 Kamani St. on the last Thursday of the month from noon to 2 p.m.
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GEOCHEMICAL DETECTIVE WORK HELPS ANSWER QUESTIONS about
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| More fluid, far-reaching, and hotter lava flows --like this one from May 21 -- are different from the initial cooler, slower, older lower East Rift Zone erupted lava. USGS photo |
"What's happening inside the volcano?" is just one of many questions asked about Kīlauea 's ongoing lower East Rift Zone eruption. Looking at the geochemistry of erupted lava can help us answer these questions.
Magma supplying Kīlauea 's eruption is composed of melt -- molten rock -- mineral crystals, and dissolved gases or gas bubbles -- exsolved gases. Elements that make up magma can stay in the melt or can build crystals depending on the magma temperature, pressure, and abundance of other elements.
Experimental work has found that the elements magnesium and calcium move between the melt and specific mineral crystals depending on temperature. So, the amount of magnesium and calcium in lava reflects the temperature of the magma.
Some elements do not fit into any mineral crystals that grow in Hawaiian magma. These elements increase in concentration as magma cools and more crystals form. So, the abundance of these "incompatible" elements reveals if magma has been stored before erupting. If stored long enough, the magma's composition is changed as crystals grow and the amount of incompatible elements increases.
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| Pulses of lava from Fissure 8 vent sometimes occur every few minutes. Taken over a period of about 4 minutes, the photos show the lava within the channel almost out of sight. Then, a pulse in the system creates a banked lava flow that throws spatter -- fragments of molten lava -- onto the channel margin. After the third photo was taken, the lava level again decreased to nearly out of sight. USPS photos |
When the first lower East Rift Zone lava sample was collected on May 3, 2018 , the University of Hawai`i-Hilo
But there was one surprise: Fissure 17 -- the only vent not in line with the others -- erupted the coolest and most chemically evolved lava ever found on Kīlauea . Its temperatures were as low as 1030 degrees C (1890 degrees F).
Previous lower rift zones eruptions on Kīlauea have shown a similar pattern -- evolved magma erupted first, followed later by hotter, "fresher" magma. The early LERZ lava erupted in Leilani Estates is similar in composition to the early 1955 lava, which erupted in the same area and seems to be the most likely candidate for the parental source.
Finding evolved magma stored in the lower regions of Kīlauea , the site of many past eruptions and intrusions, is to be expected. During past events, not all of the magma reached the surface once the driving pressure was gone. That stored magma then evolved over time.
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| This map shows the size of Kīlauea and the other volcanoes on Hawai`i Island. The flows -- in red -- that have erupted since 1800 are shown, with the exception of flows since May 3. Photo from hilo.hawaii.edu |
Because Kīlauea is so massive, it can take decades before magma comes back to a given area. During that time, stored magma cools, grows crystals, and slowly changes in composition. When a new intrusion forces its way through the volcano and up to the surface, it may encounter one or more of these stored magma bodies. The intrusion magma can push out and/or mix with any stored magma that is still liquid.
As the LERZ eruption continued, samples collected on May 11 showed that the lava composition had shifted to slightly hotter -- 1105 degrees C (2020 degrees F) -- and less evolved magma. Soon afterward, eruptions from Fissure 20 produced `a`ā flows that rushed to the ocean.
Over the next 12 days, the lava chemistry became progressively hotter and less evolved until it leveled out at temperatures of 1130–1140 degrees C (2070–2085 degrees F). The arrival of this hotter lava preceded the high-volume, sustained eruption of Fissure 8, giving scientists a heads-up that something might change.
This new lava includes abundant and visible olivine crystals, some of which resemble the type of olivine crystallizing in summit magma before the LERZ eruption sequence began. The lava composition we see now doesn't exactly match recent Pu`u `Ō`ō or summit lavas, but it is similar. This correlates well with geophysical observations that the volume of the summit collapse is similar in magnitude to the volume of LERZ erupted lava.
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| Lava erupting from Fissure 8, going down the perched channel. USGS photo |
Magma travels up to 45 km (28 mi.) through Kīlauea 's East Rift Zone, cooling and potentially mixing with stored deep-rift magma to create lava of slightly different compositions. Ongoing geochemical detective work at HVO should help get a better handle on what's happening inside the volcano.
On Kīlauea Volcano's lower East Rift Zone, lava continues to erupt primarily from Fissure 8, feeding a channelized flow northeastward from the vent. The channel then extends west of Kapoho Crater and on to the main ocean entry near Ahalanui. As of July 27, the flow was less than 0.1 mi from the Pohoiki boat ramp at Isaac Hale Park
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| Pohoiki remains, with lava about 500 feet from the boat ramp. USGS photo |
At Kīlauea 's summit, collapse events continued to occur during the past week, releasing energy equivalent to earthquakes of around magnitude-5.3. Inward slumping of the rim and walls of Halema`uma`u continues in response to ongoing subsidence at the summit, resulting in frequent felt earthquakes. Three or more felt reports were submitted for 53 of the earthquakes that occurred in Hawai`i during the past week.
Visit HVO's website volcanoes.usgs.gov/hvofor past Volcano Watch articles, Kīlauea daily eruption updates, Mauna Loa weekly updates, volcano photos, maps, recent earthquake info, and more. Call for summary updates at 808-967-8862 (Kīlauea ) or 808-967-8866 (Mauna Loa ). Email questions to askHVO@usgs.gov.
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NEW and UPCOMING
ZENTANGLE: COLOR STORIES, WITH LOIS AND EARL STOKES, is offered on Saturday, August 11, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Volcano Volcano Art Center's Ni`aulani Campus in Volcano Village.
"Color! What a deep and mysterious language, the language of dreams," states the event description on volcanoartcenter.org, quoting Paul Gauguin, and adding that the class itself will not be about color theory, but something else entirely. "It is about listening to the story that colors Whisper to you. It is about watching a drop of ink blossom on a piece of paper and about how this makes you feel. It is about warm colors and cool colors and the dance of fire and water on paper and deep within you. Add to this dance the rhythm of repetitive patterns and you have choreographed a color story and a Zentangle Inspired work of art," the event description continues.
"Color! What a deep and mysterious language, the language of dreams," states the event description on volcanoartcenter.org, quoting Paul Gauguin, and adding that the class itself will not be about color theory, but something else entirely. "It is about listening to the story that colors Whisper to you. It is about watching a drop of ink blossom on a piece of paper and about how this makes you feel. It is about warm colors and cool colors and the dance of fire and water on paper and deep within you. Add to this dance the rhythm of repetitive patterns and you have choreographed a color story and a Zentangle Inspired work of art," the event description continues.
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| Photo from volcanoartcenter.org |
Zentangle is an "easy-to-learn, relaxing and fun way to create beautiful images" by drawing structured patterns, states the description, claiming "it is the repetitive nature of these patterns that brings us into a state of relaxed focus that some call meditation."
Participants use alcohol inks -- squirting, blowing, splattering, tilting, pushing, and pulling. "Alcohol inks are so much fun to play with, you never really know what to expect. You don't need to be a professional artist to create something really pretty with alcohol ink. The ink has a will of its own in the beginning," exclaims the event description.
Students are required to pay a fee of $30 per Volcano Art Center Member or $35 for non-Members, plus a $10 supply fee, and are asked to bring a light refreshment to share. A basic knowledge of Zentangle is recommended but not required for the class. Visit volcanoartcenter.org or call 967-8222 to register and for more details.
Participants use alcohol inks -- squirting, blowing, splattering, tilting, pushing, and pulling. "Alcohol inks are so much fun to play with, you never really know what to expect. You don't need to be a professional artist to create something really pretty with alcohol ink. The ink has a will of its own in the beginning," exclaims the event description.
Students are required to pay a fee of $30 per Volcano Art Center Member or $35 for non-Members, plus a $10 supply fee, and are asked to bring a light refreshment to share. A basic knowledge of Zentangle is recommended but not required for the class. Visit volcanoartcenter.org or call 967-8222 to register and for more details.
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See public Ka`ū events, meetings, entertainment. Print edition of The Ka`ū Calendar is free to 5,500 mailboxes throughout Ka`ū, from Miloli`i through Volcano, and free on stands throughout the district. Read online at kaucalendar.com |
MONDAY, JULY 30
Register to Vote in the Primary Election at an Early Walk-In Voting site from Monday, July 30, to Thursday, August 9.
TUESDAY, JULY 31
Ka`ū Food Pantry, Tue, July 31, 11:30-1pm , St. Jude's Episcopal Church in Ocean View.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1
THURSDAY, AUGUST 2
Hula Voices w/Kumu Manaiakalani Kalua, Thu, Aug 2, 5-6pm , Volcano Art Center Volcano Village
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| Volcano Rain Forest Runs Registration is at volcanorainforestruns.com |
Ocean View Neighborhood Watch Meeting, Thu, Aug 2, 6-7pm , Ocean View Community Center
Talk Story about Agriculture in Ka`ū at Pāhala Plantation House on Fri, Aug 3, at 6pm . All farmers and community members interested are invited. Bring a dish, pupu, or dessert to share if can. Contact HFUU Ka`ū Chapter president Raina Whiting at 808-464-0799 or rainawhiting@gmail.com.
Nature & Culture: An Unseverable Relationship, Sat, Aug 4, 9:30-11:30am , Kahuku Unit of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park
Last day to see Oliver!, a KDEN Production. Last show Sunday at 2:30pm. Show at UH-Hilo Performing Arts Center. Tickets: $20 general, $15 seniors 60+ and students, $12 keiki 12 and under. Tickets available at Kīlauea General Store, Kea`au Natural Foods, Basically Books, and The Most Irresistible Shop in Hilo. Info and reservations: 982-7344, kden73@aol.com. Persons displaced by the eruption are invited to see the show for free, but must make a reservation.
5th Annual Volcano Winery Harvest Festival, benefit for Volcano School of Arts and Sciences. Tickets go on sale Aug 1, for the event on Sun, Sept 9. Music, food, wine and raffle. $40/adult (21+). 967-7772, volcanowinery.com
5th Annual Volcano Winery Harvest Festival, benefit for Volcano School of Arts and Sciences. Tickets go on sale Aug 1, for the event on Sun, Sept 9. Music, food, wine and raffle. $40/adult (21+). 967-7772, volcanowinery.com
Exhibit, Birds of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park: The Hawai`i Nei Invitational Daily, through Aug 4, 9-5pm, Volcano Art Center's Ni`aulani Campus, Volcano Village. Free. Artists: John Dawson, Reyn Ojiri, Sarah Koh, Wendy Barske, Maria Macias, Cody Yamaguchi, Ann Guth, and John Mydoock. Art represents endemic bird species. volcanoartcenter.org
Tūtū and Me also offers home visits to those with keiki zero to five years old: home visits to aid with helpful parenting tips and strategies, educational resources, and a compassionate listening ear. Home visits are free, last 1.5 hours, two to four times a month, for a total of 12 visits, and snacks are provided.
Harmony Educational Services, Home Based Educational Programs - Open Enrollment through Oct 15; harmonyed.com/hawaii. Partnered with four local public charter schools, Harmony offers benefits of homeschooling with resources available to public schools. Interested families can also contact Rayna Williams, rwilliams@harmonyed.com or 430-9798.
5th Annual Ka`ū Coffee Trail Run Registration Open, online at webscorer.com/register?raceid=128145, Fees, before Aug 13: 5K, $30/person; 10K, $40/person; and 1/2 Marathon, $50/person. After Aug 13: 5K, $35/person; 10K, $45/person; and 1/2 Marathon, $55/person. Race Day Sat, Sept 22, 7 a.m.; begins and ends at Ka`ū Coffee Mill, kaucoffeemill.com. Event organizers: `O Ka`ū Kākou, okaukakou.org.
Disaster Recovery Center is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., weekends from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Kea`au High School Gym. Buses run to and from Kea`au Armory every 20 minutes and Pāhoa Community Center Shelter every hour; see full bus schedule on the Civil Defense Website at HawaiiCounty.gov/Active-Alerts. For a list of the information applicants need to bring to the DRC, or to register online, go to DisasterAssistance.gov. The Salvation Army continues to operate a distribution center at the Pāhoa Community Center on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. To donate, please coordinate with the Salvation Army at (808) 756-0306.
St. Jude's Episcopal Church Calls for More Volunteers for the Saturday community outreach. Especially needed are cooks for the soup served to those in need, and organizers for the hot showers. "Volunteering for St. Jude's Saturday Shower and Soup ministry is an opportunity to serve God in a powerful way," states St. Jude's April newsletter. Volunteer by contacting Dave Breskin at 319-8333.
Find Your Park, invites Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Kama`aina and tourist alike are encouraged to experience authentic Hawaiian cultural programs, guided hikes, After Dark events, and more from Ka`ū to Volcano to Hilo. "While Kīlauea continues to shake the ground and blast ash from its ever-changing summit crater – causing the partial closure of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park on May 11 – park rangers continue to enlighten and engage visitors from other locations," says a release from HVNP staff.
Rangers offer new and familiar programs – free of charge, with no entry fees – for visitors at the park's Kahuku Unit, Volcano Art Center's Ni`aulani Campus, and Mokupāpapa Discovery Center and Prince Kūhio Plaza in Hilo.
Kahuku Unit
In addition to regularly scheduled Guided Hikes and the monthly Coffee Talk, Kahuku Unit has added daily Ranger Talks, and cultural demonstrations and activities on weekends.
Visitor Contact Station hosts `Ike Hana No`eau: Experience the Skillful Work Cultural Demonstrations and Activities, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday. Visitor Contact Station hosts Ranger Talks on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday at 10:30 a.m.
Guided Hikes begin at 9:30 a.m. every Saturday and Sunday in June and July. Meet the ranger at the welcome tent.
Coffee Talk, in the Visitor Contact Station is held the last Friday of the month, 9:30-11 a.m.
Kahuku events are posted to the park website, nps.gov/havo/planyourvisit/kahuku-hikes.htm.
Volcano Art Center's Ni`aulani Campus
Find Park Rangers in Volcano at the Volcano Art Center's Ni`aulani Campus at 19-4074 Old Volcano Rd., in Volcano Village. Rangers are there most days from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to provide talks and answer questions about the current eruption.
Mokupāpapa Discovery Center
Find Park Rangers in downtown Hilo, Tuesday through Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Rangers provide daily eruption updates, and at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., give a talk about all five of Hawai`i Island's volcanoes -- including Kīlauea. Get NPS Passport Books stamped. Located at 76 Kamehameha Ave., Hilo.
Prince Kūhio Plaza
Find Park Rangers alongside the park's non-profit partners, Hawai`i Pacific Parks Association, at their brand new mall store.
Grand Naniloa Hotel
Find Park Rangers stationed at the Grand Naniloa Hotel in downtown Hilo, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., every Sunday and Monday, in the Willie K Crown Room -- as long as nothing else is scheduled in the space. The rangers will be doing daily talks at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. about the eruption. They will show the park film that is normally available to visitors to see at the Kilauea Visitor’s Center at the Summit, Born of Fire, Born in the Sea, every half-hour beginning at 9:30 a.m.
Park rangers also greet incoming arrivals at the Hilo International Airport, welcome cruise ship passengers as they disembark at the Port of Hilo, and inform visitors at `Imiloa Astronomy Center most Sundays.To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter. See our online calendars and our latest print edition at kaucalendar.com.