Over the last few weeks, we’ve had two newsworthy events that involve volcanoes and water. This is a common combination on our planet and can have dramatically different results. One is a very small feature that’s new to one of the most active volcanoes on Earth. The other is now a large feature spreading across the Pacific that came from a previously unknown volcano under the sea.
First, the small: the US Geological Survey has been reporting on a new crater lake forming in the Halema’uma’u caldera in Hawai’i (see above and below). It has been almost a year since the last eruption at Kīlauea and as I’ve reported, the summit area might have experienced the most dramatic changes during 2018.
