U of C field course at Hawaii volcano still on
A University of Calgary volcanology field course has changed part of its itinerary but still plans to head to Hawaii, despite increasing activity from the Kilauea volcano.
Rajeev Nair, the professor running the field course, said five days of the planned itinerary have been shifted. The original plan was for Nair and 12 students to visit Kilauea and explore its features but, due to recent activity, the volcano park is closed to the public.
“We’re going to be in parts of Moana Loa and Hualalai, which are two other volcanoes on the island,” said Nair.
“Some of our mapping exercises will shift to flanks of Moana Loa, which we can access easily, and then we’re hoping to do some of the things I haven’t been able to do in the past because of lack of time in other parts of the island — just looking at other volcanology features in Hawaii.”
Recent activity from Kilauea, however, has sparked concerns on the island over toxic gas, after lava began flowing into the ocean and setting off a chemical reaction.
The molten rock pouring into the ocean has been generating plumes of lava haze or “laze” as it interacts with sea water.
The U.S. Geological Survey said sulphur dioxide emissions from the volcano have more than doubled since the eruption began. Kilauea’s summit is now belching more than 13,000 tonnes of the gas each day, up from about 5,000 tonnes daily before the May 3 eruption.
However, Nair said there isn’t much concern over air quality in the area the field course will visit.
“The winds usually come from the northeast and it blows everything to the southwest and into the sea,” said Nair.
Nair added that given the new itinerary it is “highly unlikely” they will have trouble from Kilauea.
The field course runs from May 28toJune9.