Halema’uma’u winding down? USGS scientists ponder the signals from Kilauea 12 January 2009
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Is Kilauea’s summit eruption coming to an end? The scientists at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) are pondering this question as 2009 begins, says a 7 January 2009 HVO press release. ‘According to Jim Kauahikaua, HVO Scientist-in-Charge, several lines of evidence confirm a decrease in activity at the vent in Halema’uma’u Crater’:
- Since early December the Halema’uma’u gas plume has changed from opaque to wispy and translucent.
- On 31 December 2008 infrared imaging revealed that a previously open conduit in Halema’uma’u vent had become blocked by rubble, and that vent temperatures are greatly diminished.
- Sulphur dioxide emissions, while still elevated compared to 2003-7 levels, have fallen to their lowest values since late 2007.
- The composition of tephra ejected from the vent has changed: in early December more than half of the tephra was derived from molten lava, two weeks later the volume of tephra had decreased and it mostly consisted of fragments of pre-eruption rocks from the vent walls.
‘If an eruption is defined as a volcanic event that deposits solid material on the ground surface’, says Jim Kauahikaua, ‘then the Halema’uma’u eruption stopped in mid-December’. Nevertheless, he warns that the summit vent remains in ‘a state of unrest’. Seismic tremor also remains elevated. This falling-off in activity may be a pause rather than the end of the eruption: only time will tell.
News
Sulfur dioxide emissions drop at Kilauea summit – Honolulu Advertiser, 7 January 2009
Sulfur dioxide emissions drop at Kilauea summit – Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 7 January 2009
Halema’uma’u still fuming but may be simmering down – Honolulu Advertiser, 11 January 2009
Information
Global Volcanism Program: Kilauea – summary information for Kilauea (1302-01-)
USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory – main page for the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
HVO Kilauea Status Page – the latest activity reports for Kilauea
HVO Press Releases – press releases from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
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The Volcanism Blog 
Do It Yourself SO2 Eliminator.
For $52.04 I made my own SO2 eliminator – And It Works!
This simple unit uses a fish tank air pump to push air through bubble stones immersed in
a baking soda/water mixture. The same stuff that you put into your catchment tank to
neutralize SO2 and balance the PH can be also used inside your house to purify the air
that you breathe the most.
This system works because as the air is passed into the water it is in the form of tiny
bubbles – bringing the most air surface as possible into contact with the water. The
sulfur dioxide (SO2) then reacts with the sodium bicarbonate (a salt compound) turning it
into sodium bisulfate (a different salt compound) and releasing carbon dioxide (about as
much CO2 in a day as you will get drinking a canned cola), where the salts get left
behind in the water as the gasses escape. Some oxygen gets dissolved into the water, but
the vast majority passes through the system and back into the room. Additionally the
system will also take in smoke and room odors where they get dissolved into the water,
neutralized and left behind, freshening the air.
YES, there IS a noise factor, however- I Am SO2 Free – so I do not care about the
background bubbling, and neither will you! (about as much noise as a conventional window
unit air conditioner, but with less energy usage).
Just go to the pet store and buy a good powerful air pump, some air tubing, and a few air
stones. When you get home snag a clean 5 gallon bucket (a 5 gal glass bell jar on a towel
makes less noise), put in 1 cup Arm-n-hammer (sodium bicarbonate), and 2 gallons of water
(H2O), mix until completely dissolved, drop in your stones and be SO2 free in 30 mins.
(If you put in too much water then the bubbling action will be nearer the top and water
drops that are lifted by the bubbles will escape and deposit a thin film of salts around
the bucket that will have to be cleaned up).
Do not cheat yourself and get a cheap pump and small air stones, the system will not work
as well and you will be disappointed. The key is to pass as much air through the system
in as short a time as possible, and to do that you need a powerful pump and larger
stones. My pump cost $24.95, was the highest capacity pump in the store, and came to
about half of my setup cost. I then paid $5 each for four 6 inch air stones, (the stones
must be short enough to lie submerged fully in the water for them to work). And the rest
was spent on the air tubes and some T-joints to split the airflow.
My pump unit has a variable output knob so that I can adjust its air flow depending on
the SO2 levels and how much bubble noise I care to put up with, along with a dual air
output that I split again at the end of the air tubes to run the four air stones.
I am using this in my room only, and keep my door mostly closed. As long as the air in my
room doesn’t get mixed with outside air I can stay SO2 free 24/7. I periodically check
the PH level of my water and change it about once a week. You may need to change the
water more or less frequently depending on your local SO2 levels. And just for looks I
tossed a thin sarong over the whole setup to hide it from sight, as well as to catch any
moisture that may be carried up by the bubbles into the air. If you wish to put systems
in additional rooms then you can get the whole house with their combined effect.
Personally, I have bought higher priced setups that always failed on me, and after
examining how they were built and figuring out the physics of why they worked, I decided
to go cheap and do it myself.
I share this knowledge freely in the spirit of Aloha. If you find this knowledge useful
then please DO tell others so that they may be SO2 free as well.
And please feel free to tinker with the design, as this one is by no means perfect.