Can Pele be stopped?

[DanielP]

what a disrespectful idea. Move to the mainland

[pbmaise]

It is indeed an academic question since certainly we would never attempt to do it.

This said, historically someone is already attributed with stopping a lava flow.

Princess Ruth Luka Keanolani Kauanahoahoa Ke'elikolani

"The princess asked to be left alone, but some of her supporters stood guard hidden on a nearby hill. They did not see the princess for an entire day. They feared for their monarch's life while the lava flow advanced to within twenty feet of the hut. The princess finally emerged from the hut, chanted for several hours and fell asleep exhausted on the ground after sunset.

The next morning, all could see that the lava flow stopped four feet from where the princess slept. Some say Pele chose to spare Hilo in response to the Princess's prayers, and in respect for her willingness to lay her life in Pele's hands to save her people."

Source: http://oursalon.ning.com/profiles/blogs/...-a-volcano

Former Puna Beach Resident
Now sailing in SE Asia
HOT BuOYS Sailing

[snorkle]

It's a lot easier to move a modular dwelling than a lava flow. It's worked for the host culture for two thousand years.

[randomq]

Maybe one of Elon Musk's tunnel boring machines could carve out a channel to redirect the flow safely.

Sulphur dioxide could be proactively captured and converted to more usable forms.

Could we use industrial lasers or giant blades to cut the lava into huge building blocks for dry-stack structures? Puna pyramids?

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

Good NY Times article about recent lava diversion techniques in Iceland.  A combination of berms and water has proved successful in changing the course of a lava flow.  Iceland has mythology and ancient religious beliefs, they also have geothermal and have saved towns and treasured natural resources like the Blue Lagoon.

Iceland’s Chief ‘Lava Cooler’ Is Bracing for the Next Eruption
Helgi Hjorleifsson, a firefighter, is a leader in a national experiment to steer rivers of lava away from important sites. Some called it crazy, but it worked.
…
Lava was heading toward the already evacuated town of Grindavik, a power plant and the Blue Lagoon — one of Iceland’s most popular tourist attractions.

Mr. Hjorleifsson was tapped to lead a team of firefighters trying to do the unimaginable: Cool the lava enough to control it.

The firefighters and other emergency responders managed to protect the power plant, the lagoon and most of the houses.

Lava Diversion In Iceland

[MyManao]

they also have geothermal and have saved towns and treasured natural resources like the Blue Lagoon.

Interesting. I have pointed to Iceland's attitude about geothermal and lava diversion several times in the past. We could learn a lot from them.

The part that captured my fancy here is your phrase.. treasured natural resources like the Blue Lagoon and where I agree the waters of the Blue Lagoon are a natural treasure I think it is worth pointing out that all they are is the discharge from a geothermal plant. So, yes, natural in that they come from Earth, and treasured because soaking in them is enjoyed by many local and tourist alike. But, Edge, they are just geothermal brine. Brought to the surface via the geothermal process, and dumped on the land.



And just think, there was a day, back in the late '70s and early '80s, when all we had was the good ol original exploratory HGP-A well, over on the back side of Leilani, that created that stinky pond of brine, that we all got a good whiff of if we happened to take the Pohoiki rd.. that could have become a great world renown tourist attraction, like the blue Lagoon. That is, of course, had all the looneys not made such a ruckus, or the government told them to shove it, instead of giving them the time of day.

Really, had we had the foresight, like the folks over in Iceland have, we could have geothermal, AND, be a tourist destination as well. With ponds, waterfalls, hotels, income and a lot of happy people.. but noooo. We got the anti-geothermal whack jobs instead.

And, btw, I think reinjection is the ticket. Get rid of that stuff already.. but I am just pointing out that the Blue Lagoon is a man made structure.. not an actual natural resource found there in the first place.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

captured my fancy here is your phrase.. treasured natural resources

Yes, I was on a roll waxing poetic, and should have said national treasure.  You know, like Bjork.

[ironyak]

Archived & free version of "Iceland’s Chief ‘Lava Cooler’ Is Bracing for the Next Eruption"
Edit: Just saw it's also on the Trib - https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/202...-eruption/

While not specified, it sounds like this attempt didn't rely on pumped ocean water like with the Iceland harbor in '73, just used the municipal water system? May have been dealing with a slow/low volume flow, much like Berm Guy Alfred Lee's last stand in 2014 (see attached)? Hard to see how large enough berms could be established fast enough, or enough water pumped, to deal with something along the lines of the output of Fissure 8 in 2018.

The old grey matter is tingling that we've had this much of this conversation before, probably as part of the lost 2014 eruption subforum, and that we realized not all geothermal brines are made equal, with the Blue Lagoon having certain beneficial properties without some of the heavy metal downsides. Still too much to do in the real world to pursue this deja-vu glitch in the Punaweb matrix, but figured worth seeing if anyone else remembers this too, and why there may be a good reason we don't have lead-laced geothermal hot pond spas on the offering along Pohoiki Road?