Volcano: Birth of a Mountain

this is the observatory what's happening with Kar this morning it's still in plany earthquakes are increasing when is it going to erupt oh I can't say just one but it could be soon Mark Twain once called Hawaii the loveliest Fleet of islands that lies anchored in any ocean indeed few places on Earth can match Hawaii's near perfect climate and haunting Beauty but this warm and gentle land suffered the peaks of huge volcanics that for millions of years have erupted time and time again building up from the sea floor to break through the ocean surface and form the islands we see today at dawn on the morning of May 24th 1969 the expected eruption was underway a torrent of lava surged out of the smoke and steam men sent to observe that first eruption were met by a roaring curtain of fire scientists knew this eruption was coming what they did not know was that lava would continue to gush from this site for the next 5 years the face of Hawaii would be forever changed this eruption was to be the birth of a [Music] Mountain Observatory to vent go ahead Observatory what's happening down there the lava is about 10 m down and Rising we're watching it the Hawaiian volcano Observatory operated by the United States Geological Survey is perched on the rim of the Cera a large crater at kowa Summit the scientists who work here constantly probe the mysteries of volcanoes [Music] kilaa lies in the Southeastern part of the island of Hawaii stretching away from the summit Cera is an area of frequent volcanic activity the East Rift Zone the new eruption occurred about 8 km from the summit directly on the rift kiloa has a long and varied history of eruptive activity from within the Caldera Halu constantly pours Steam and gas into the sky at the observatory seismographs were recording slight Tremors from within the volcano magma molten rock from the Earth's interior was moving beneath the surface and feeding the quiet eruption on the East Rift Zone gas was slowly Rising through the lava the Escape gas would sometimes push the lava up and over the rim of the vent causing a large overflow day after day men would walk up to the face of the red hot flow to scoop out samples for laboratory study they knew that lava fountains might resume at any time and shower them with a hail storm of [Music] fire instruments called tilt meters showed that caloa was inflating as magma from deep in the earth moved into reservoirs near the surface this was an indication that more intense activity could occur go ahead this is vent calling Observatory it looks like a new episode is starting we've got a good sized Fountain and a strong lava flow an important way to study an active vol volcano is up close in person teams of scientists headed for the vent to study in detail this new active phase of the eruption the volcano gave them plenty to do another episode of high fountaining was underway 12 of these episodes occurred in 1969 at the foot of the fountain in choking heat and gas geologists continued their work collecting lava samples studying the eruption closely this time they saw a strange phenomenon lava rushing out of the main vent ran down to this lower vent and flowed back into the mountain possibly it was rejoining the inner Rising stream of lava to be carried up and once again erupt from the main vent above the volcano seem to be recycling the molten lava there were many periods of vigorous activity and relative calm day or night the volcano was a spectacular sight [Music] scientists in the field studied portable seismographs locating earthquakes trying to get some idea of where the magma below was moving the activity continued and there was more much more to come millions of tons of lava gushed from the vent soon the first searching fingers reached nearby a lie crater the volcano was beginning to drastically change the Hawaiian landscape a li crater would soon cease to exist erupting lava is very hot and generally contains a great deal of gas the lava cools and the gas escapes as the flow travels farther from the point of eruption so that it thickens and moves more slowly a li crater was close to the volcano's main vent so the lava that reached it was still very fluid a Cascade of fire twice as high as Niagara Falls and three times as wide roared into the crater at a speed of nearly 50 [Music] kmph at its peak the lava Fountain reached a height of 540 M taller than the Empire State Building the tremendous heat from the river of lava generated strong winds these winds created fiery tornadoes that whipped across the river spraying flaming lava into the air every Dawn saw not only a new day but a new landscape the volcano was earning a name an identity all its own MAA ulu the growing [Music] mountain in August a li crater suddenly emptied of lava large cracks split open the crater floor and the lava drained back into the Earth in 2 months MAA ULU would fill it again now 1970 saw MAA ULU entering a more gentle phase of the eruption scientists used the time to repair and renew equipment buried under previous lava flows access to the site was now more difficult as roads were cut in a dozen different places the scientist in charge of the Hawaiian volcano Observatory Donald Peterson took to the air to survey the situation Echo this is 412 what can we do for you we have a car trp in the highway can you see any way from up there of getting it out oh no way it's totally surrounded looks like it's gone over and out the view from the helicopter might have been of a different planet Barren black fields of cooling lava stretched in every direction a hardwood forest was now a grotesque Forest of lava trees these form when flowing lava sweeps around a living tree before the tree burns away the lava cools forming a mold around the tree trunk the hot gases that escape from ferales carry tiny particles of various minerals most commonly sulfur as the gases rise into the atmosphere they cool abruptly the sulfur crystallizes and is deposited along the walls of the [Music] vent the island of Hawaii Bears evidence of many past eruptions on the Southwest slope of the island is the great crack another volcanic Rift probably formed during a major eruption in the early 1820s it is a vivid reminder of Hawaii's varied history Echo to Observatory everything's quiet here we're returning to base over as time went by various methods of studying the MAA ulu eruption were put to use there was too much happening at one time scientific teams were spread too thinly but cameras could be where men could not metal boxes were fitted to protect them from the Heat and falling [Music] Ash a lava Shield such as MAA ULU Grows by the piling up of lava flow after lava flow [Music] here is a timelapse view of a day and a night in the life of Mana ULU the lava pours out over the gently sloping sides of the shield another layer is added and the mountain grows eventually to become the largest new volcanic land form in the United States in many centuries [Music] by mid 1972 MAA ULU had radically changed the face of the land and the eruption continued now the lava was mostly traveling Underground through Lava [Music] Tubes skylights in the tube's ceilings gave scientists a unique opportunity to measure the temperature of the flowing lava it measures, 160° C the top of this stream is cooling forming a crust when it hardens it will cover and insulate the lava Stream So the lava will travel a greater distance before it cools and solidifies to measure its speed skylights along the stream are selected and if necessary enlarged the ease with which these tubes can be broken open shows how fragile the crust is on which this man is standing two men are stationed at different points along the tube they are in radio contact and one has a stopwatch ready start your watch no a stick thrown into the lava bursts into flame and drifts Downstream got it the time the stick took to drift the distance between the men will give them the speed of the flow volcanic eruptions take a variety of forms a fountain of lava shooting into the sky is only one of many types of eruption anytime molten lava can be seen or even heard moving on the Earth's surface an eruption is taking place this relatively calm phase of the MAA ULU eruption would soon turn into one of the most dramatic as the red hot lava splashed into the cold sea pouring from the mouths of many Lava Tubes the flow crept closer and closer to the Shoreline nothing could stand in its way these petroglyphs carved perhaps hundreds of years ago by some of the earliest Hawaiians vanished forever under the river of fire the lava reached farther and farther from the main vent 12 13 km large sections of lush forest in Hawaii volcano's National Park were set a flame Observatory calling Echo what is your present location are you in a position to observe the lava flow at the shoreline uh this is Echo calling Observatory uh we're approaching cayen point now and the uh that flow that was way back has gone a long ways and it's just reaching the ocean right now over again MAA ULU gave scientists a rare look at the forces that shape our planet this is the process that built the Hawaiian islands and indeed much of our Earth's quest for the moment the ocean is fighting a losing battle the lava pours in faster than it can be washed away and slowly the coastline pushes seaward gigantic amounts of energy are released in this head-on collision of Fire and Water the battle went on not only on the surface but underwater as well ancho calling Observatory the um flow at the shore has greatly increased there's a real good flow going on and the uh the divers have just gone into the water they should be getting a real good show over the show that the divers captured on film was truly incredible they recorded the Sound and Fury of an underwater lava flow the hard crust above the tubes defies the breaking wave and the lava continues to flow underneath the crust out in into the ocean at Great personal risk the divers filmed and collected samples of this strange and terrible fire under the [Applause] sea this sloping flank of the island extends down into the ocean and the lava poured down the slope for many meters just beyond the perimeter of the lava flow as though nothing at all was happening life in the sea went on as usual lava continued to pour into the sea its source was the same vent that was supplying the lava lake in the large crater at MAA ULU Summit the mountain had grown above the forest when in May of 1973 it underwent a dramatic change the crater collapsed the lava tubes dried up and the flow into the sea stopped Mona ULU remained sluggish for most of the rest of 1973 and some people thought it might be finished it was not later in the year activity resumed by late January of 1974 mount ULU was again erupting strongly in the next few months the mountain added another 30 m to its height and its shape was completely changed lava fountains repeatedly roared into the sky in spectacular shows of Fury the United States Geological Survey and the National Park Service studied the situation closely and decided it was safe to allow tourists near the vent people came by the thousands to see the Terrible Beauty of a volcanic eruption on July 19th the situation abruptly changed our headquarters this a volcano Observatory I have an Urgent Message we recommend immediate evacuation in the monu area the chain of craters Road and Crater Rim Drive the instruments are showing that eruptive activity is likely to increase soon scientists were not sure how strong the impending increase would be but they could take no chances there was an urgent need for immediate [Music] evacuation this is 240 calling Park headquarters go ahead 2 40 I can completed my sweep chain of crator road is clear Roger assist officers maintaining road block on chain of Crater Road until further advised 10 for the warning was issued just in time 2 hours later the eruption was underway this time the eruption was not at MAA ULU but at kila's Summit Caldera once again a large section of chain of Crater Road disappeared under the torrent of lava once again fast moving lava Rivers swept across the land once again they tore through the forests to leave only lava trees where living trees once [Music] stood from July 19th to the 22nd this eruption continued then gradually came to an end while the eruption at kila's Summit was dying the last traces of the molten pool of lava in MAA uru also disappeared MAA ULU was silent perhaps this time forever no more lava poured from this crater that had been the center of such incredible drama for over five full years the crater that gave birth to the newest mountain in the United [Music] States this is an everchanging world no sooner had MAA ULU finished growing than the wind and rains began the process of erosion that will wear it away but nature will take many thousands of years to level this mountain a massive lava Shield about 1 and 1/2 km wide 2 kilm long 130 M High scientists hesitate to call the volcano dead it may be dormant only resting for a while someday MAA ULU the growing Mountain might begin to grow once [Music] more for