Rainfall May Have Triggered the Eruption

[Mtviewdude]

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/202...a-eruption

quote:

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in early 2018, fluid pressure had been at its highest in almost half a century, weakening the volcanic edifice, which the authors propose enabled magma to break through confining rock beneath the volcano and lead to the subsequent eruption.

photo of orange lava flwoing over the ground from Kilauea vent in the distance
Overnight, fountains of lava as high as 160 feet had erupted from the fissure 8 vent along the East Rift Zone by the time this photo was taken on the morning of June 12, 2018.
Credits: USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO)

“Interestingly, when we investigate K#299;lauea’s historical eruption record, we see that magmatic intrusions and recorded eruptions are almost twice as likely to occur during the wettest parts of the year,” said Jamie Farquharson, a postdoctoral researcher at the Rosenstiel School and lead author of the study. He argues that local rainfall patterns may contribute significantly to the timing and frequency of these phenomena at K#299;lauea and perhaps at other volcanoes.

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Just thought it was interesting, and it might mean we have to watch out during the rainy years.

[PaulW]

Interesting! Thanks.

[Guest]

Yes, interesting. Though I'd love to hear what hydrologists at HVO think. For those that are interested the actual study, not linked in the above article, was published today in Nature, and is available here..

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2172-5

[leilanidude]

All that rain (weight and volume) has to go somewhere and we don't have rivers so it makes some sense anyway.

[1voyager1]

Eruptions are an eternal part of life when living on a volcano, just as floods are when living on a floodplain, tornadoes and hurricanes when living in much of the U.S., and the other regular natural disruptions of life that are seen regularly.

Pressure built up by ground water may have hurried up the eruption.
But, it was going to happen anyway, maybe a day, week, month, year, or whatever later.

Despite that, it was a very interesting to read.

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Was a Democrat until gun control became a knee jerk, then a Republican until the crazies took over, nothing left.