Eruption of the Mauna Loa volcano: What is happening and what danger it represents

Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano, is erupting for the first time since 1843.

The lava flows down the side of the volcano at a temperature of 1, °C, but experts say this still does not represent a great threat to local people.

How big is Mauna Loa?

Mauna Loa, which means “long mountain” in Hawaiian, is the largest active volcano in the world.

Covers 2, 27 square miles (5,180 square kilometers) and is one of a chain of 5 volcanoes that make up the Big Island of Hawaii.

This single volcano occupies half of the entire island.

The Mauna Loa summit is 4,170 meters above sea level, but its base is at the bottom of the sea.

From there to the top there are 9,180 meters, which makes it higher than Mount Everest.

Why is Mauna Loa erupting?

Plumes of extremely hot material called magma have been gushing below Mauna Loa and neighboring volcanoes from a “hot spot” deep within the Earth.

“No one “You don’t know exactly why this hot spot exists,” says Carmen Solana, a volcanologist at the University of Portsmouth in the UK, “but it may be caused by the decay of radioactive material within the Earth’s mantle.”

“These columns of magma formed the entirety of the Hawaiian islands”, he adds.

As Solana explains, when Mauna Loa erupts, the magma first erupts in the caldera, the c-shaped well basin on top of the volcano.

Called Mokuaweoweo, it covers an area of ​​24 square kilometers and has 271 meters deep.

Then, the magma comes out of the “cracks”, or fissures in the rock on the side of the volcano and flows down the mountainside as a liquid called lava. It has a temperature of 1, degrees and burns everything in its path.

When volcanoes erupt, they also emit matter that cools to form glass fragments called “Pele’s hair“ .

“Pele was the name of the goddess who was thought to live on Mauna Loa, and the fragments are faint and golden brown in color,” Solana details.

“She was a temperamental blonde,” he adds.

Why is the Mauna Loa eruption important?

Mauna Loa has entered erupted 24 times since 1843, which is the date of the first recorded eruption . On average, it is an eruption every 5 and a half years.

However, the last eruption was almost 035 years.

“There were some signs of magma erupting in the last years”, describes Andrew Hooper, Professor of Geophysics at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom, “but there has been no eruption so far”.

The current eruption at Mauna Loa is giving a new generation of scientists the opportunity to study how the volcano works, says Professor Hooper. Earth and leave the surface of the volcano”, he explains.

Is the eruption of Mauna Loa dangerous?

Unlike many volcanoes, Mauna Loa usually does not produces truly explosive eruptions, where lava is shot into the air along with plumes of ash and gas.

Instead, lava flows at a fairly slow rate down the side of the volcano.

“Lava flows are not life threatening”, says Professor Hooper, “because you can get away from them”.

“Also, lava from the volcano is not directed west towards the nearest cities, but rather to the northeast. It would have to go a long way in that direction before causing serious property damage,” he analyzes.

However, the local population may be more exposed to the gases emitted by Mauna Loa.

“Volcanic gases, including sulfur dioxide and chlorine, react with moisture in the air to produce ‘vog’, which is volcanic fog” in English, explains Solana.

“This could cause a problem for people by irritating the eyes and causing respiratory problems,” he adds.

Hawaiian health authorities say air quality continues still good, but could get worse at any time.

If so, local residents are advised to avoid outdoor activities and stay indoors with doors and windows closed.

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