Volcano eruption, a natural event we don't have a thread on.

[goldenvalley]

The eruption in Hawaii is ongoing...ash, some lava, and Pele's hair!

Don’t worry about the lava. But watch out for the hair of a goddess.

That was the message from U.S. government officials minutes after the world’s largest active volcano, Mauna Loa, erupted for the first time in nearly four decades.

The spewing lava did not threaten homes, they said — but there could be a risk as lava bubbles explode, sending delicate, golden strands of molten lava resembling human hair blowing downwind.

Pele’s hair is the byproduct of a geological process in which gas bubbles in the lava burst and rapidly cool, Park Service officials said. The bubbles’ explosions stretch the molten lava as it immediately cools. The resulting delicate strands can reach several feet in length and are about a micron (0.001 millimeters) thick.

Since they’re so light, the strands can become airborne and float on the wind, according to the Park Service. They cluster in low-lying areas to make dense mats that can become several inches deep. While they look like hair, officials warned that they are, in fact, glass.

[goldenvalley]

Not exactly an eruption yet:

This seems even more scary:

[goldenvalley]

Remember the above...the town was evacuated?  

A volcano in southwestern Iceland, the country’s most populated region, began erupting Monday with lava fountains reaching high in the air and the glow lighting up the sky miles away in the center of the capital, Reykjavik.

The location of the fissure, which is some 2.5 miles long and growing quickly, is not far from the Svartsengi Power Plant and the town of Grindavík, which was evacuated last month because of heightened seismic activity, leading to concerns than an eruption was likely.

[pnwguy]

Dec 19, 2023 17:07:12 GMT goldenvalley said:

Remember the above...the town was evacuated?  

A volcano in southwestern Iceland, the country’s most populated region, began erupting Monday with lava fountains reaching high in the air and the glow lighting up the sky miles away in the center of the capital, Reykjavik.

The location of the fissure, which is some 2.5 miles long and growing quickly, is not far from the Svartsengi Power Plant and the town of Grindavík, which was evacuated last month because of heightened seismic activity, leading to concerns than an eruption was likely.

I drove around that area in Oct 2021 and spent a day at the Blue Lagoon.  I know the government was quickly working on producing some run-off ditches to divert lava away from developed areas, but with the 100 m3 per second outflow, I wonder how much of that was successful.  Iceland is quite an interesting place.