About 1.5 miles from a research project

[Fred588]

This is what is going on at this moment about 1.5 miles from where I had a field research project from about 1999 to about 2002.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG5zz9Sjw3E

[dlodoski]

This is what is going on at this moment about 1.5 miles from where I had a field research project from about 1999 to about 2002.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG5zz9Sjw3E

This looks especially cool at night. Thanks for the link.

It's unfortunate, but understandable, that there's no (close-up) audio.

There's this one also, but it's not as good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqhzFQr3hEw

[Fred588]

I don't think there is any audio. It might be confusing if there was, as the camera location is actually several thousand yards away, probably further away than my reserarch area. I can assert that because the viewing abgle is looking down at the eruption, and that is near the floor of Haleamaumau, several hundred feet below the floor of the caldera, which itself is several hundred feet above the edge of Haleamaumu

[Fred588]

I am not sure if I have ever described what the project itself was about, so here goes:

There was n eruption in 1919 that lasted for many months and deposited some thick layers of new lava over a fairly large portion of the caldera floor. In 1999 (maybe 1998) there was an article in a journal I subscribed to that, among other things, called for volunteers for a project to find, map, and inventory as many as possible of the lava caves that formed within the 1919 flow. I volunteered nd was accepted. After several trips to Hawaii for this purpose, I developed an idea for another project. The chef scientist at the obsrrvatory saw merit in my idea and the project was approved. The idea was to emplace data loggers that would record the temperature every 15 minutes in each or eight caves that had highly elevated temperatures due to steam coming from ground cracks inside them. Obviously the heat that made the steam came from the magma underground, although the water itself was from rain. The inside temperatures should be a function of the flow of heat from magma less loss. The loss would be affected by the wind direction and velocity relative to thesize and orientation of the cave openings. If we had enough data and could use some mathematics to eliminate much of the effects from wind, then the remaining temperatgures, over time, should be functions of the rise and fall of magma uderground.

The data loggers had batteries that were good for about four months, so I had to fly to Hawaii every three months, download the data, and replace the batteries. It was hard work, but someone had to do it. In the end, the data on wind, which was from external sources, was not good enough to do the mathematics. And, since 2008, the entire caldera floor has been off limits due to more or less continuous eruptions.

[Fred588]

A related, and somewhat relevant project that took place spontaneously during the research project resulted in my first two videos, neither of which survives.

One video was a clip of about five minutes in which another person (Harry) ran the camera while I explained the project and the process of offloading data and changing batteries. That was my first viceo ever, except for recording my own university classes for those who missed class.

My second video was a humorous tale we made up about what we were doing. There were three of us most of the time, Harry, Rob, and myself. Rob seemed to have trouble with sand in his boots so we made up the following three clips. In the first, Rob is sitting on a boulder with one boot off. My voice from off camera says, "Whatcha do'in Rob?" Rob answers, "Sand in my boots." and starts putting the boot back on. End of clip. The second clip is pretty much the same. "Whatcha do'in Rob?".... More sand. I don't know where it comes from." end of clip. The third clip is about the same except Harry is sitting behind Rob and Rob has both boots off. "Whatcha do'in Rob?" More rocks,... I don't get it." At this point the camera zooms in closer on Harry, who has Rob's first boot and is pouring a handful of gravel into it.

Both videos were shot using mini VHS and all original materal was lost in the fire.

[Mynock]

Volunteer to go to Hawaii and climb around an active volcano changing batteries and exploring lava tubes. That sounds like a series of all expense paid adventure vacations!

[Fred588]

Volunteer to go to Hawaii and climb around an active volcano changing batteries and exploring lava tubes. That sounds like a series of all expense paid adventure vacations!

SWell not quite. All the trips were on my own ticket.

[Fred588]

I believe the wind has shifted so as to blow toward the camera. You can see pieces of what is probably scoria falling bwtween the eruptionand the camera.