PRESENTATION OUTLINE
MAUNA LOA IS LOCATED IN HAWAII.THE MAUNA LOA VOLCANO LAST ERUPTED IN 1984 on March 24 to April 15
The volcano's magma comes from the Hawaii hotspot, which has been responsible for the creation of the Hawaiian island chain over. The slow drift of the Pacific Plate will eventually carry Mauna Loa away from the hotspot within 500,000 to one million years from now, at which point it will become extinct
The lava erupting from the volcano was moving toward the ocean at a speed 20 miles per hour, destroying everything in its wake, including horses, cattle and land as the local villagers ran for their lives. Another major eruption occurred less than a hundred years later. On the night of June 1, 1950, lava flows from Mauna Loa entered the village of Ho`okena-mauka village in South Kona, cutting through Highway 11, the town's only escape route, and consuming several houses and a post office before traveling out to sea. Fortunately, no lives were taken by lava flows from the 1950 eruption. Most recently, Mauna Loa erupted in 1984, but lava flows caused no significant damage except for burying about 16 miles.
Seismometers can be used to pinpoint earthquakes which track the rise of magma and its movement along fissures. Measurements of the tilt of the entire mountain provide additional information about the “breathing” of the volcano as magma moves inside it. Instruments that sniff SO2, CO2 and other gases also can signal changes in the volcano. At some volcanoes the seismic information seems most reliable, at others the tilt tells the story. But the best predictions come from the combination of all of these methods into a volcano monitoring and prediction system.
