Mauna Loa erupting

[dobanion]

OK, I'm impressed.

[TomK]

Can you point to the part in your link about not building the DKI slightly north and uphill of its current position at the old Mauna Kea Access Road junction?

This has been asked and answered multiple times already (it helps to actually read the thread before posting)

Well, just point to your answer and citations.

[Durian Fiend]

Can you point to the part in your link about not building the DKI slightly north and uphill of its current position at the old Mauna Kea Access Road junction?

This has been asked and answered multiple times already (it helps to actually read the thread before posting)

Well, just point to your answer and citations.

Posts 127-`130.   Essentially it was easier to build the road where it is now. Maybe your question is “why wasn’t it moved during upgrade”? Not sure that’s been completely addressed.

[ironyak]

No need to waste the time as TomK is again just being a churlish troll asking for yet more sources he can't be bothered to read.

Speaking of not feeding a burbling mass, the eruption rate looks quite reduced, which likely explains the incoherent and disorganized streams issuing forth but making little progress.
Restored live cam: https://www.youtube.com/live/Rb_Jrd0a2Sk
Edit: Re-restored live cam:
https://www.youtube.com/live/9wQQfgTWDfg

[MyManao]

the eruption rate looks quite reduced..

Yeah, one does wonder if we're hearing the requiem for the eruption..

Especially as the tilt is now showing a strong, more than a whole day's worth, trend of re-inflation..



And the last 48 hours of seismic tremor shows a graphically stepped, decrease over time, trend towards a lessening in amplitude, and a clear drop around 4 this morning, giving one the sense the eruption is all but pau..



It’s getting increasingly more difficult to imagine anything but a few more burst and then the flow.. and vent.. will freeze to stone..

BTW.. I am not convinced the tremor signal is clear, free from atmospheric influence.. and as such that sudden drop earlier this morning could be the wind speed dropping below a certain threshold as much as it might be a marked decrease in actual tremor..

If it wasn't for the tilt I'd be straddling the fence between pau and just a drop, as we saw between the high fountains at Puu Oo and the continuous low level effusion of lava at Kupaianaha, and the nature of the eruption turning to an ever lengthening pahoehoe flow. But that tilt, that steady increase.. sure speaks of an end to all this..

And still.. as a lifetime of experience dictates.. it ain't over until it actually is..

*Note that the plots here are generated dynamically.. ie they are updating regularly (reload page to update) and as such the topic being discussed will move out of range over time.

[Chas]

Judging from the current live shot, it appears about done...

[My 2 cents]

There will be a breach.  That's as far out as my limb goes.

USGS is also reporting "New breakout upslope to east is robbing #lava from main channel ~2.8 mi behind front of main flow."

What do I win?

An intact high-speed cross-island highway and all the cheap hotdogs and rotisserie chickens you desire! (Message brought to you by Costco and the MLO - both soon to be recording new record highs!)

Well thank you, but I believe the prize should go to you and the others who have provided so much valuable and interesting information to those of us who come here looking for exactly that.  So thank you, and to Rob as well for providing the space for this to happen.

Aloha

[terracore]

After the eruption was established in the NE rift zone I read somewhere official (maybe it was the USGS twatter feed) that southern or western rift zones were not going to erupt unless the eruption in the NE rift zone stopped, pressure rebuilt, and then a new eruption began.

Remember it's never goodbye within our lifetimes. It's "see you later".

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

A few more comments on the Saddle Road alignment.

Thanks ironyak & AaronS for the links to historical references and planning information for Saddle Road.  I assumed the decision to site the road in it's current location was complex, but I had no idea how many factors and agencies were involved in the process.  After reading through that, we're lucky any agreement was reached, and any road was built at all.

With Mauna Loa erupting, the potential closing of the highway due to lava seemed like a major factor to me.  Admittedly the major factor.  But from the point of view of engineers and the context of a quiet volcano, I can see why they started looking at the existing roadway, most direct route, the fewest miles to drive, the straightest possible road with high speed curves and a goal of 60 mph throughout the stretch whenever possible.  Then they have to work around PTA, birds, silverswords, land ownership…. Glad I only have to drive on it, now that it's mostly completed and the heavy lifting is done.  

BTW, if you want to enter a time tunnel, go to Google maps, Mauna Kea Access Road, Street View.  Half the drive through the intersection is just roadway, half shows the protest encampment.  It switches back and forth. All of the concerns that authorities have raised durning this lava eruption, pedestrians on the highway, cars parked on the side of the road, impacts on posted speed limits are clearly taking place, even supported with traffic lights, signs, concrete barriers etc.  Many tents set up and occupied a few feet from the highway.

Next time there's a protest encampment, maybe officials can open Old Saddle Road again.  Seems to keep the highway safer for lava viewing, might work for tarp cities too.  With the encouragment of a $1000 fine for popping up glavinized poles and blue tarps on the new highway.  Don’t we all want to be treated equally?

[My 2 cents]

After the eruption was established in the NE rift zone I read somewhere official (maybe it was the USGS twatter feed) that southern or western rift zones were not going to erupt unless the eruption in the NE rift zone stopped, pressure rebuilt, and then a new eruption began. 

Remember it's never goodbye within our lifetimes. It's "see you later".

I also saw this in this morning's Tribune article:

...(HVO research geologist Frank) Trusdell also noted that three previous historical Mauna Loa lava flows had transitioned from producing a’a lava; the chunkier, more viscous lava that has characterized the current eruption; to producing more fluid pahoehoe lava. This transition, he said, also corresponded with a decrease in effusion rates, suggesting that the current slowdown might herald a new phase in the eruption.