One of the world’s most active volcanoes sprang into life again Monday, spewing columns of lava 80 meters above Hawaii, U.S. vulcanologists said.
Images showed enormous fissures in the caldera of Kilauea, on Hawaii’s Big Island, spraying jets of molten rock into the air.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said the eruption began just after 2 a.m. local time (1200 GMT) in the southwestern section of the caldera.
“At 4:30 a.m., lava fountains were observed with heights up to 80 meters [262 feet],” the agency said.
“Molten material, including lava bombs, is being ejected from the winds on the caldera floor up onto the west caldera rim.”
The eruption was also sending matter much higher into the atmosphere.
“The plume of volcanic gas and fine volcanic particles is reaching elevations of 6,000-8,000 feet above sea level … and winds are transporting it to the southwest,” the observatory said.
The observatory said sulfur dioxide emanating from the fissure would react with other gases in the atmosphere.
So-called vog — volcanic smog — can affect people and animals, as well as crops.
Kilauea has been very active since 1983 and erupts relatively regularly, including most recently in September.
It is one of six active volcanoes in the Hawaiian Islands, which include Mauna Loa, the largest volcano in the world, though Kilauea is far more active.
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