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Hazards
WARNING:
THIS
IS NOT AN OFFICIAL HAZARD MAP, BUT IS MY INTERPRETATION BASED ON RESEARCH
![](MaunaLoaGoogleEarth2.jpg)
Source 24
Hazard Map Key
After researching the eruptive history
of Mauna Loa and studying the hazard maps drawn up by
Hawaiian volcanologists, I have created my own hazard
map for Mauna Loa. (The
RED
section is the general region of the largest city on the
Big Island, Hilo)The main hazards at Mauna Loa
consist of lava flows, often in the form of a'a.
The YELLOW
section shows the area where magma is most likely to
burst through the surface. Practically none of the
population is in danger in this zone. All past
eruptions after the formation of the basic structure of
the island have taken place along this ridge. The
PINK
section shows the boundaries of a substantial but
relatively average-sized flow. Again, an
insignificant amount of people are in danger in this
zone. As a larger volume of lava is produced, the
flows go down either side of the peak, but not near any
big towns. Development on this area should be
prohibited until Mauna Loa shows a significant turning
point in the size of its eruptions, which would indicate
a period of decline in activity as it moves off the hot
spot. The
ORANGE
section shows what a substantial eruption with a large
volume of lava and fairly quick effusion rate has the
ability to do. These eruptions occur less often,
and have the ability to reach insignificant numbers of
people in the area because the flows have never been
lead in the direction of major towns on the island.
It should be advised that no development occurs in this
section. However, the expanding economy and
population could override this warning. As long as
the Observatory is prepares the population with a method
of action in case of an eruption, everyone will be safe
in this zone. The nature of Hawaiian volcanism and
the high level of monitoring provides ample warning for
eminent eruptions. The last section,
GREEN
shows what could happen in the event of a major
eruption, which would be a very least-likely case of
hazards in the event of an imminent eruption because
they are a rare occurrence. A very large eruption
could have the potential to damage significant amount of
property, but the main concern would be if the lava
reached the North East side of the island, where much of
the population resides. An effort should be made
through intervention on the side of government to keep
the population very aware of what the area is capable
of. Warnings should be widely publicized against
the use of this land, and obstacles should be put in
place like increased cost of land instead of decreased
(because of the hazards) to discourage new development.
But nothing is certain, and as long as people are
warned, they are in no real danger because of the
efficiency of their monitoring system. An eruption
of this magnitude is unlikely based on historical events;
the last time a lava flow reached the area of Hilo was
in 1881.
Source
11
![](hawaiizones.gif)
An example of a hazard map drawn for
the entire island of Hawai'i. 1 is the zone with
the highest level of hazards, 9 the least.
Source 18
Population and
Economy
![](pop.jpg)
Mauna Loa in the background of a
developed area by the ocean.
Source 16
The population on the
Big Island is distributed in such a way so that the most
concentrated areas happen to be almost guaranteed safety
from lava flows.25 & 26 However, the population is
growing and spreading out, which is problematic when the
frequency of eruptions is taken into account: there have
been 33 since 1843.6 Furthermore, the United States
Census data shows a 240% increase in the Hawaiian
population from 1960 to 2000.6 Some areas of the
island have increased in population in dangerous zones
such as Hawaiian Ocean View Estates, located downhill
from the Southwest rift zone.6 Topography of the
region is important, but scientists have also observed
other important factors to take in to account when
assessing the hazards of Mauna Loa: that Hilo is
more in danger of pahoehoe lava tubes from high effusion
rates because the more common a`a flows generally cool
too fast to pose a threat.6 Scientists determined
more knowledge of the lava channel lengths of Hawaiian
flows by using a model called FLOWGO, which uses the
known vent locations to simulate flows.
Source
6
Other factors of volcanism like
earthquakes have the potential to disrupt, but major
destruction is somewhat infrequent.
Despite the fact that erupting volcanoes
normally discourage the population from remaining
because of the risks and hazards involved, leading to
declining tourism and economies, Hawaiian volcanoes
almost excite the economy. Their effusive nature
makes them fairly safe, and every tourist on the island
wants to go see a lava flow. Indeed, much of the
tourism on the Big Island revolves around their majestic
volcanoes.
Minimizing Risk
Mauna Loa is a very
highly monitored volcano and poses little threat to the
population because of its effusive nature. The
main concern as of now is the selling of property on old
flows and in hazard zones. I believe that the Geological
Institute should advise those realtors and prospective
homeowners of the dangers involved, and possibly attempt
to prevent the buying and selling of property in lava
hazard zones. As long as the rapidly growing
population is informed, and attempts are made to divert
building on lava flow hazard areas, property damage risk
will be minimized. For all written records, no
deaths have been recorded at Mauna Loa, and I believe
that the Observatory has ample monitoring systems in
place to warm the population should anyone or anything
be in danger.
![](dike2.gif)
Coulomb failure changes in stress.
The image shows the outward seaward movement and inward
dip of the island in relation to Mauna Loa.
Source 7
However, improvements can always be made
in order to better prepare the population in the account
of an eruption, and many scientists have made innovative
observations about the mechanisms involved with Mauna
Loa. Recent studies have been made that could
potentially predict where the next flow will go, which
vent it will erupt from, and when it will occur.
Scientists have found evidence using a complex form of
radar data of inflation in a body of magma resembling a
dike in the southwest rift zone of Mauna Loa from 2002
to 2005. They have discovered this because the
accumulation was observed in an unclamped (by other
dikes and earthquakes) region of the rift zone, where
the factor of stress transfer plays a prominent role in
controlling magma accumulation below the surface.
Comparing the results from a model magma chamber and
historical eruption data led to the conclusion that
about 80% of rising magma penetrates the deep and
intermediate levels of the rift zone, a different area
than the alternate magma pooling at a shallower depth.
Based off of their experiments and eruption patterns in
Mauna Loa's history, this group of scientists predicted
that the Southwest Rift Zone is the most probable
location for a dike of new magma accumulation and
eruption. Ultimately, they produced a new model
for the magmatic system of the volcano in which most of
the magma remains in the deep areas of the rift zone,
causing the stress field to alter and allow dike
formation in shallower areas along faults. New
theories and predictions like these can assist the
drawing of hazard maps for the most accurate detail.
Understanding the mechanisms behind Mauna Loa and its
past history are key elements to determining the nature
of future eruptions.
Source
7
![](vents.gif)
A simple diagram of Mauna Loa's main
vents, the most active being the Moku`aweoweo caldera
and the Northeast and Southwest Rift Zones. The
red lines show the 33 official vents identified thus
far.
Source 2
For more information about the Hazards
of Mauna Loa visit:
http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/maunaloa/hazards/main.html
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