According to the United States Geological Survey, the volcano Kilauea in Hawaii started erupting inside its summit crater on Thursday. This comes less than one month after the volcano and its larger neighbor Mauna Loa stopped spilling lava.
The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory noticed a glow in webcam photographs that indicated Kilauea had begun erupting inside the Halemaumau crater at the volcano’s summit caldera. The organization stated that the glow indicated that the eruption had commenced inside the crater.
Kilauea’s peak may be found within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, which is located in a remote area distant from any inhabited areas. The United States Geological Survey upped the alert level for Kilauea earlier on Thursday due to indications that magma was moving below the summit surface of the volcano. This is a hint that the volcano may erupt shortly.
Kilauea is regarded as one of the most active volcanoes on the planet. The last eruption was in September 2021, and it lasted for a total of 16 months. When Mauna Loa erupted for the first time in 38 years on November 27, Hawaii had two volcanoes spouting lava side by side for almost two weeks beginning with that date. The eruptions at both volcanoes came to an end at roughly the same time.
Visitors to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park during the twin eruption were able to observe lava from both eruptions occurring simultaneously. According to Ken Hon, the scientist in charge of operations at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, “it was a beautiful eruption, and plenty of people got to witness it, and it didn’t wipe down any big infrastructure, and most importantly, it didn’t affect anybody’s life.”
The lava from Mauna Loa did not threaten any of the villages on the island, but it did come within 1.7 miles (2.7 kilometers) of a main roadway that connects the east and west sides of the island. In 2018, an eruption from Kilauea was responsible for the destruction of more than 700 homes.
The observatory intended to keep keeping a close eye on the volcanoes to see whether there were any signs of fresh activity. When asked about this topic in the past, Hon stated that there is typically a “cooling off” period that lasts for three months before scientists consider an eruption to be over.
It was not clear what possible relationship there could be between the volcanoes suspending their eruptions at roughly the same time. Multiple vantage points at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park close to Kilauea’s caldera provide a simultaneous view of both volcanoes, which can be seen at the same time.
According to what Hon has stated in the past, researchers intended to examine data to investigate the connection between the two volcanoes. Eruptions of Hawaii’s volcanoes hold a significant cultural and spiritual meaning for Native Hawaiians. During the eruption of Mauna Loa, many Hawaiians participated in traditional practices. These included singing, chanting, and dancing in honor of Pele, the goddess of volcanoes and fire, as well as leaving offerings known as “hookup.”
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