May 30, 2018

Earlier this month, on May 3, Kilauea, a large volcano on the “Big Island” of Hawaii, erupted violently and pumped dangerous lava flows near residential neighborhoods, prompting local officials to order emergency evacuations. Since then, dozens of fissures have opened up along the slopes of the volcano, oozing glowing lava or shooting fountains of it high into the air. The volcano has also produced massive columns of smoke and ash and a haze with varying amounts of poisonous gases. As of today, Kilauea’s eruption proceeds without any signs of stopping, and new lava fissures and cracks appear daily.

A massive column of ash and smoke billows from Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano on May 4, 2018, near Pahoa, Hawaii. Credit: U.S. Geological Survey

Volcanologists have used flying drones to monitor Kilauea’s flowing lava as it creeps towards homes and other buildings in the Leilani Estates neighborhood near the town of Pahoa. Hawaii Governor David Ige mobilized the Hawaii National Guard to assist with evacuations and security in the area. So far, 82 homes have been destroyed by lava and around 2,000 residents have been evacuated. Kilauea’s flows have also damaged several other structures, including the Puna Geothermal Venture, a conversion plant that uses heat from volcanic activity to generate electric power.

Lava erupts from a fissure in the Kilauea volcano on May 22, 2018, in Kapoho, Hawaii. Credit: © Mario Tama, Getty Images

Kilauea is one of the world’s most active volcanoes. The current eruption is only the latest of a highly active eruption cycle that began in January 1983. This month’s eruption was preceded by a swarm of small earthquakes caused by the movement of magma beneath Kilauea and the collapse of a volcanic vent in Kilauae’s crater floor. On May 3, 2018, hours after a magnitude-5.0 earthquake, steam and lava spewed from several surface cracks on the eastern side of Hawaii’s Big Island.

Kilauea rises 4,190 feet (1,227 meters) above sea level and constitutes about 14 percent of the land area of the Big Island. Kilauea and massive Mauna Loa are the stars of the area’s Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Kilauea is a shield volcano, a volcanic mountain with broad, gently sloping sides. Shield volcanoes commonly erupt in fountains of lava. The fountains feed lava lakes within a caldera (large crater), and long, often slow-moving flows seep down the volcano’s sides. Repeated eruptions produce layer upon layer of flows. The layers gradually build the slope upwards and outward, forming a shallow, rounded cone. The name shield volcano refers to such a volcano’s broadly curved shape, which resembles a soldier’s shield. Kilauea’s summit caldera contains a lava lake known as Halema`uma`u. In Hawaiian mythology, the molten lake is the home of the volcano goddess, Pele.

Volcanologists are worried about the many fissures that have opened along the eastern slope of Kilauea, spewing lava, smoke, and ash. Some flows reached the Pacific Ocean, where red-hot lava created huge clouds of steam laced with poisonous and stinky sulfur dioxide. Gases from Kilauea have collected into a toxic volcanic smog that has now drifted as far away as Guam and the Mariana Islands, where residents have been warned to limit outdoor activity.

December 4, 2013

Mice laced with a common painkiller parachuted into a United States Air Force base on Guam recently as part of an ongoing attempt to kill off invasive brown tree snakes that have caused enormous ecological damage on that South Pacific island. For the helicopter drop, the dead mice were attached to tiny paper streamers that deposited them in the forest canopy, where the snakes live. Each mice is dosed with 80 milligrams of acetaminophen, an amount scientists consider harmless to other animals and humans. (Acetaminophen tablets used for pain relief in humans commonly contain about 500 milligrams.) No mouse drops were made over populated areas. Guam is an American territory in the Mariana Islands.

Brown tree snakes, which are native to Australia and Papua New Guinea, entered Guam in the late 1940′s or early 1950′s, probably by traveling with military cargo. The snake is a fierce predator of small animals, including birds and lizards. Animals native to Guam had no experience of the snakes. Nor were there predators to control the snake’s numbers. In addition to destroying native bats and other animals, the snakes have wiped out 9 of the island’s 12 native bird species. An estimated 2 million of the snakes currently live on the island. Brown tree snakes slithering into electric power substations on Guam cause about 80 power outages each year, at a cost of up to $4 million in repairs and lost productivity.

Mice bombs attached to cardboard and paper streamers are being dropped on parts of Guam to combat destructive brown tree snakes. (USDA/APHIS)

The recent mouse bombardment was the fourth official aerial drop in the new snake eradication effort, which began in Sepember. Wildife experts on the island also employ snake traps, snake fences, snake-sniffing dogs, and human hunters. A study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) suggests that the snakes are taking the tasty but lethal bait. Scientists worry a brown tree snake invasion of nearby islands, including Hawaii, in cargo planes or ships could cost billions in damage.

In a blog on the Anderson Air Force Base website, Marc Hall, the supervisory wildlife biologist of the USDA at the base wrote, “Before the snakes arrived, Guam’s ecosystem was very different. Numerous birds could be seen and heard when walking through the northern limestone forests. Without the birds to disperse seeds and the fact that nonnative pigs and deer tear up the ground and eat sapling plants, the native limestone forest has been severely degraded and will require extensive help in order to recover.”

 Additional World Book articles:

• Invasive Species (a Special Report)
• New Top Predator? Pythons in the Everglades (a Special Report)
• Trees Under Threat (a Special Report)