Kīlauea Volcanic Eruption 2018

• 34 eruptions since 1952
• 1983 → 2018, the volcano’s activity was continuous along the volcano's East Rift Zone 
• Kīlauea is the home of Pele
• ka wahine ai honua (Kanai)
• Hawaiian chants and oral traditions

Due to the lack of old exposed rock at the site, this makes it difficult for geologists to determine the volcano’s eruption history to its entirety. Approximately 10% of Kīlauea's surface contains rock that is older than 1,000 years old, and the other 90% percent is covered by lava flows younger than 1,000 years old. The most valuable evidence correlating to the volcano’s origin are the older rocks recovered from Kīlauea's submarine slopes and drill cores. To this day, geologists continue to collect rock samples and utilize dating methods to estimate the volcano’s first erupted lavas. The most up to date research indicates that the first alkali-basalt lava flows erupted onto the ocean floor between 210,000 and 280,000 years ago, and the volcano transitioned from its pre-shield to the shield-building stage about 155,000 years ago.

• Shield volcano: low silica, low viscosity
• Mafic magma (low silica content)
• Volcano was created from a hot spot (magma is stationary and closer to the surface, but the crust is moving)
• Erupts in effusive and explosive cycles
• Shield volcanoes are only explosive if water gets into the vent
• Scientists infer that the eruption style is determined by the amount of magma supplied to the volcano
• Magma supply is high = summit caldera fills and creates lava flows from the summit
• Magma supply is low = the caldera collapses, if the caldera floor is deep enough to be at or below water table, water can seep into the vent and trigger steam explosions

• The air quality on the island of hawaii and surrounding areas was worse than it had been since 1983 due to the volcanic emissions from the eruption (sulfur dioxide, ash, sulfate). 
• Tourism supports a large portion of Hawaii’s economy. Unsafe volcanic eruptions, such as the 2018 Kilauea eruption, creates a negative impact for Hawaii’s economy. “It’s not surprising to see a decrease in visitor spending during 2018 since most of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park was closed for 134 days due to unsafe and unpredictable volcanic activity,” acting Superintendent Rhonda Loh said in a written statement.

• Harmful though dormant
• Gas odors harmful to public
• Pit crater raises concerns