The active ocean entry along the southernmost margin of the fissure 8 flow is a hazardous area. The interaction of lava and seawater creates “laze,” a corrosive steam plume laced with hydrochloric acid and fine volcanic glass particles that is blown downwind and can irritate the skin, eyes, and lungs. Lava flows entering the ocean can also result in explosive interactions, littoral explosions. Captions and Photo source: USGS
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The island has grown by nearly 700 acres, the equivalent of more than 500 football fields.
The continuous lava flow has now covered about 12.5 square miles of Hawaii’s Big Island, or about half the size of Manhattan…
Read Full Article, CBS News (07-18-2018)
Exploding lava creates new danger as Kilauea flows into the sea; MNN (06-13-2018)
A new video from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) shows explosions occurring in mid-air as lava flows into the ocean near the Big Island. They’re called “littoral explosions” and they occur when molten lava flows into cool ocean water…