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Volcanos National Park Red Flag
#1
Volcanoes National Park is currently in a red flag status for a part of Crater Rim Drive. Sulfur emissions are the second hightest in recorded history in a 5 mile section in a southern part of Crater Rim Drive. They didn't close the drive yet...although they have closed one of the lookouts and are telling people to keep their windows closed and their vents on recirulate.

We went through it yesterday and it did seem quite overpowering in spots.
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#2
There is also an emmission watch for the east side, as the trades are not blowing & the emmissions may drift into Puna & Hilo. If you are sensitive to SO2, please be aware that high levels are being emmitted & that the east side may have higher than normal levels into the weekend.
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#3
This sort of activity is puzzling to HVO scientists. It was noted prior to previous summit eruptions, but the summit has not been showing other signs of such an eruption.

GO POUR GIN!
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#4
Grab your coolers and lawn chairs folks, it's about to look like 4th of July up in this muthaaaa !!!!! This time the eruption, Willlll be televiseddddddddddd !!!!!!
"Fry me a baseball steak and pass me an Old Milwaukee"
memba "Pali" beer in the long necks ?.
"rally 'round the family, with a pocket full of shells".
Pele is about to get downnnnnnnnnnn !!!!!
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#5
Well, folks, we seem to have about one and a half of three indicators of an impending eruption.

1. Increased sulphur dioxide, bigtime. A full point for this one.

2. Tremors near the summit remain "elevated at several times background, but not near eruption levels" according to HVO. Half a point for this one.

3. Summit inflation is not present. In fact it has been deflating for a while now. This could mean we need to take off a point, but in the interest of not spoiling Glen's panic[Wink], I will rate it neutral.

So Madame is sending us mixed signals. In my strictly amateur opinion, things are getting "interesting," but she's probably not going to blow any minute.

Here is a link to a recent news report: http://starbulletin.com/2008/02/14/news/story02.html

Cheers,
Jerry

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#6
Mahalo, Jerry for the article!
veeerrrrry interesting, indeed...

aloha!
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#7
Please do not under-estimate the dangers of sulfur in the air you breathe. It takes just a few SECONDS of inhaling air with a concentrated level of sulfur gases to produce a dramatic response in someone's airway. This is true whether or not you have a problem with your breathing (asthma, COPD, etc)under ordinary circumstances. If you are a smoker, have asthma or COPD, this kind of exposure may put you in the ER...or in a coffin. Please steer clear when you can.

Also, do not underestimate the intensity of ultra-violet exposure when up on our lovely snow-capped volcano. Unprotected exposure might get you the burns of your cornea experienced by welders who might work without their thick, blue lenses. This is not a joke; every January or February, on a Monday after a nice weekend, when there is snow up on the mountain, folks show up in clinics, and E.R.s, around the island howling in pain, unable to open their eyes. After a day or two of PROFOUND discomfort, things usually settle down if no infection develops. If only they had been wearing sun glasses.
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#8
There's been quite a spread of recent earthquakes across the island. Check out this site:

http://tux.wr.usgs.gov/index.html

I wonder if Mauna Loa is ripe for some action? Living on the Pacific Rim has its drawbacks(drop in property value sound good?).
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#9
Well, this is the fun of living on a active volcano. It is exciting to be living on the edge, what all who live here should try and enjoy. To see new land being created is wonderful, but to see the eruption getting too close to ones property, may not be so joyful with the stressful thoughts of sulfur and lava decending upon one's property.
Always do what evers next.
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#10
Oh, thank you, Jerry. Just when I thought it was safe to go back in the tidepool....this.

Yes, I agree that something is happening. It has been happening since the July 21st breakout, and then the event that occurred shortly after I closed escrow. Pu'u O'o just stops, and then you have the breakout, the building of the Roman Aqueduct sized elevated channel which was pointed at Pahoa (which means "dagger" but we don't know which way the dagger is pointing). Then that stops and we have the zillions of little rootless shields (I call them volcanoettes), fed by lavatubes emanating, generally from Fissure D. Then those stop. And we have the hugely elevated sulfur dioxide levels --levels so severe they have to close off parts of the Park.

Should they call a demonic wasteland a "park". Don't know. Discussion for another day.

Anyway, I love talking through my hat about the volcano, so here is what I think is going on.....the pathway to Pu'u O'o was blocked in some way or diverted by something shifting beneath the earth. This resulted in Fissure D. But that wasn't satisfactory. The lava was looking, searching, searching for a way to the surface to escape its molten purgatory. What's the biggest, fattest channel to the surface when other ways are blocked: the summit.

Okay, I made most of that up. I take comfort though in knowing that the scientists are puzzled. No wait --no I don't. That means that what we are seeing is unprecedented in recorded history.

Great.
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