Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by janrinok on Wednesday June 13 2018, @07:22PM   Printer-friendly
from the unexpected-consequences dept.

"Lava from the Kilauea eruption has boiled away Hawaii's largest freshwater lake in just a matter of hours.

In a statement released on June 2, the U.S. Geological Survey explained that lava from the eruption's fissure 8 entered Green Lake and boiled its water away, sending a white plume high into the sky.

USGS tweeted that lava entered Green Lake at 10 AM local time. By 3PM, Hawaii County Fire Department confirmed that the lake had filled and that its water had evaporated." foxnews.com/science/2018/06/12/hawaii-volcano-kilauea-lava-boiled-away-big-islands-largest-freshwater-lake.html


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by Snotnose on Wednesday June 13 2018, @08:30PM (19 children)

    by Snotnose (1623) on Wednesday June 13 2018, @08:30PM (#692516)

    When this whole thing started with the lava getting close to it's first house one of the news droids was interviewing some guy. He said "Why doesn't the fire department come out and help us?".

    I'd love to see that news droid track this idiot down and ask "So, still think the fire department is gonna help?".

    --
    Why shouldn't we judge a book by it's cover? It's got the author, title, and a summary of what the book's about.
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +2  
       Interesting=2, Total=2
    Extra 'Interesting' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   4  
  • (Score: 4, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 13 2018, @08:33PM (4 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 13 2018, @08:33PM (#692517)

    "Yeah, they could use their hoses to refill our lake."

    • (Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 13 2018, @11:48PM (3 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 13 2018, @11:48PM (#692609)

      "Yeah, they could use their hoses to refill our lake."

      Actually, they probably could. Though this was the largest fresh water lake in Hawaii, there were only two fresh water lakes in Hawaii. This lake measured less than 100m X 100m.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 14 2018, @05:21AM (2 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 14 2018, @05:21AM (#692719)

        So they call little ponds "lake" in Hawai... hmmm

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 14 2018, @02:59PM (1 child)

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 14 2018, @02:59PM (#692946)

          So they call little ponds "lake" in Hawai... hmmm

          Maybe "lake" was the native word for "pond" and it just stuck?

          • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday June 14 2018, @05:09PM

            by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Thursday June 14 2018, @05:09PM (#693010) Journal

            I think a left wing liberal conspiracy is a more likely explanation for using the word lake to refer to a pond.

            --
            People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
  • (Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Wednesday June 13 2018, @09:03PM

    by tangomargarine (667) on Wednesday June 13 2018, @09:03PM (#692525)

    I get that you're being sarcastic about something, but what is your point?

    --
    "Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 13 2018, @09:32PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 13 2018, @09:32PM (#692542)
    It's not entirely unheard of - Iceland managed it in the 1970s, but those were different circumstances with a very different flow rate. The BBC has an interesting article on ways people have tried diverting lava in the past: https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-29136747 [bbc.com]
    • (Score: 2) by Fluffeh on Wednesday June 13 2018, @10:00PM

      by Fluffeh (954) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday June 13 2018, @10:00PM (#692563) Journal

      Most informative link in the threads on this post!

  • (Score: 0, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 13 2018, @09:38PM (4 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 13 2018, @09:38PM (#692546)

    Back around 1935 the Army dropped bombs in the volcano to try and deviate or stop the flow. Before that Pele got virgins thrown in, but that probably wouldn't work today due to a shortage. I think the best way to stop a volcano would be by throwing every SJW and Hillary fan into the caldera, and top that off with a nuke.

    • (Score: 4, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 13 2018, @11:16PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 13 2018, @11:16PM (#692593)

      Before that Pele got virgins thrown in, but that probably wouldn't work today due to a shortage.

      Finally! A career path for incels!! No shortage of virgins there, and Pele being a Goddess, male virgins are probably more super effective!

      • (Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 14 2018, @02:27AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 14 2018, @02:27AM (#692658)

        Naah. With a temper like that, she's definitely a lesbian.

    • (Score: 2) by JeanCroix on Thursday June 14 2018, @12:49PM

      by JeanCroix (573) on Thursday June 14 2018, @12:49PM (#692855)

      I think the best way to stop a volcano would be by throwing every SJW and Hillary fan into the caldera, and top that off with a nuke.

      You imbecile, everyone knows that Xenu tried that millions of years ago. And all that happened is that nowadays we're plagued with these pesky body thetans.

    • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday June 14 2018, @05:10PM

      by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Thursday June 14 2018, @05:10PM (#693011) Journal

      A number of atomic bombs could be used to re-route the lava and improve the lives of everyone on the island.

      --
      People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by frojack on Wednesday June 13 2018, @09:41PM (4 children)

    by frojack (1554) on Wednesday June 13 2018, @09:41PM (#692549) Journal

    Actually, lava flows have been steered via water cooling in a number of instances.

    Efforts to reduce damage caused by the force of the lava flow have been made several times, notably in the form of the construction of dikes or ramparts. The protection measures at Heimaey are undoubtedly the most extensive that have ever been used in a volcanic eruption. The chief reliance was upon cooling by water. This method has been tried previously on a small scale in Hawaii in about 1960, where the spraying was done directly on the lava margin and was considered to have produced results [Editor's Note: Bolt and others, 1977; Blong, 1984; Macdonald and others, 1986]. Perhaps an experiment of this kind was also [said to be] undertaken at Mt. Etna (on Sicily, Italy) a few years ago.

    https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1997/of97-724/lavacool.html [usgs.gov]

    More detailed information about an Iceland water cooling project:
    https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1997/of97-724/methods.html [usgs.gov]

    Water flows necessary to actually cool the lava leading edge enough to form a steering dike takes a while to set up, huge pumps and you need to do it on the right type of terrain, to steer the flow, not try to stop it. How would civil authorities decide to sacrifice one subdivision in favor of another?

    Hawaii is kind of fatalistic with regard to lava flows. Its easier to just get out of the way, and it might cost less in the end.

    --
    No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
    • (Score: 4, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday June 13 2018, @10:06PM

      by JoeMerchant (3937) on Wednesday June 13 2018, @10:06PM (#692567)

      Usually, when you do clever things to alter nature: dams, levees, causeways, channels, etc. there are unexpected prices to pay later (unpleasant ecosystem development, more dramatic flooding when it comes, accelerated erosion, etc.), and maintaining the clever structure can quickly cost more than building it in the first place. Getting clever with lava flows is like asking Pele to teach you a lesson.

      --
      🌻🌻 [google.com]
    • (Score: 2) by cubancigar11 on Thursday June 14 2018, @05:24AM (2 children)

      by cubancigar11 (330) on Thursday June 14 2018, @05:24AM (#692723) Homepage Journal

      I going to patent an idea right now: Use all the plastic garbage USA dumps in the ocean to build a wall around lava to divert its flow. There will never be shortage of plastic and ocean will get clean. The only downside is all the poisonous fumes but how are you going to avoid it during a volcano anyway?

      • (Score: 2) by frojack on Thursday June 14 2018, @03:44PM (1 child)

        by frojack (1554) on Thursday June 14 2018, @03:44PM (#692967) Journal

        The US does not dump plastic or garbage in the Ocean. So file your patent claims in south east Asia.
        And do a little research maybe.

        --
        No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
        • (Score: 2) by cubancigar11 on Thursday June 14 2018, @06:37PM

          by cubancigar11 (330) on Thursday June 14 2018, @06:37PM (#693097) Homepage Journal

          Fine man we get the garbage from wherever. Patented ideas are country agnostic because ideas are country agnostic. Way to miss the meat for the skin.

  • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday June 13 2018, @10:00PM

    by JoeMerchant (3937) on Wednesday June 13 2018, @10:00PM (#692562)

    Well, RDT summed it up for that crew, this is in their unexpected-consequences dept.

    OTOH, the fire dept. could have pitched in a hand first getting people evacuated, and second maybe helping to save some property if there wasn't any risk to life and limb in doing so.

    --
    🌻🌻 [google.com]