Someone Besides Me Appreciates Volcanoes
I found this on Wikipedia's home page:
Moana Loa
Mauna Loa is an active shield volcano in the Hawaiian Islands, one of five volcanoes that form the Island of Hawaii. Mauna Loa is Earth's largest volcano, with a volume estimated at approximately 18,000 cubic miles (75,000 km³), although its peak is about 36 m (120 ft) lower than that of its neighbor, Mauna Kea. Lava eruptions from Mauna Loa are very fluid and the volcano has extremely shallow slopes as a result. The volcano has probably been erupting for at least 700,000 years and may have emerged from the sea about 400,000 years ago. Its magma comes from a hotspot in the Earth's mantle far beneath the island that has been responsible for the creation of the Hawaiian island chain for tens of million of years. The slow drift of the Pacific Plate will eventually carry the volcano away from the hotspot, and the volcano will thus become extinct within 500,000 to one million years from now. The first recorded summiting of Mauna Loa was in 1794 by naturalist Archibald Menzies, then-Lieutenant Joseph Baker, and two others. Mauna Loa's most recent eruption occurred from March 24, 1984 to April 15, 1984. In view of the hazards it poses to population centers, Mauna Loa is part of the Decade Volcanoes program, which encourages studies of the most dangerous volcanoes. Mauna Loa has been intensively monitored by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) since 1912. Observations of
the atmosphere are undertaken at the Mauna Loa Observatory, and of the Sun at the Mauna Loa Solar Observatory, both located near its summit.
Mauna Loa is an active shield volcano in the Hawaiian Islands, one of five volcanoes that form the Island of Hawaii. Mauna Loa is Earth's largest volcano, with a volume estimated at approximately 18,000 cubic miles (75,000 km³), although its peak is about 36 m (120 ft) lower than that of its neighbor, Mauna Kea. Lava eruptions from Mauna Loa are very fluid and the volcano has extremely shallow slopes as a result. The volcano has probably been erupting for at least 700,000 years and may have emerged from the sea about 400,000 years ago. Its magma comes from a hotspot in the Earth's mantle far beneath the island that has been responsible for the creation of the Hawaiian island chain for tens of million of years. The slow drift of the Pacific Plate will eventually carry the volcano away from the hotspot, and the volcano will thus become extinct within 500,000 to one million years from now. The first recorded summiting of Mauna Loa was in 1794 by naturalist Archibald Menzies, then-Lieutenant Joseph Baker, and two others. Mauna Loa's most recent eruption occurred from March 24, 1984 to April 15, 1984. In view of the hazards it poses to population centers, Mauna Loa is part of the Decade Volcanoes program, which encourages studies of the most dangerous volcanoes. Mauna Loa has been intensively monitored by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) since 1912. Observations of
the atmosphere are undertaken at the Mauna Loa Observatory, and of the Sun at the Mauna Loa Solar Observatory, both located near its summit.Ah, see that! Someone loves me and understands how much I love volcanoes. I remember how I came to love them, in a set of books - my parents had bought me a Disney-promoted encyclopedia. It was a really good one, and I loved it. In one of the books was a segment on geology - in the science section - and I fell in love with the whole thing. Plate techtonics, volcanoes, formation of gem stones and mountains, it was all wonderful. I remember reading and re-reading the section.
Plate techtonics is a newer science than people realise. The theories were out there but few in the scientific community gave them any credit. This is where the supercontinent of Pangaea came to life. I understand the plate techtonics of the ring of fire, the different areas and how they move, the difference between a slip-strike fault and a subduction zone. I never get enough of it. I also get e-mails on the various volcanoes and their activity throughout the world. I also get daily e-mail reporting of earthquakes rating 3.0 and up on the Richter Scale.
So I was delighted to see Mauna Loa, a shield volcano comprising the Island of Mauna Loa in Hawaii, on the front area of Wikipedia, a wonderful site. Mauna Loa is still considered active, although Haleamaumau on the big island is the crater that gets most of the attention. Of course, Kiluaea is the one that is most active and has been consistently active since 1983. I remember when it began spouting then.
I also remember when Mount St. Helens blew her side out to the northeast and killed one of the volcanologists stationed on 8 May 1980. I remember when Pinatubo blew its top in 1993. And Mount Unzen in Japan killed a lot of people, photographers and a famous couple who were volcanologists in 1993.
Good memories, not the lives lost, but the strides made in the science all the time with every eruption that occurs!
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