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Volcano Scientist
Part III
It builds little underwater hillocks and ledges. It forms small parcels of land, which turn into islands. The whole Hawaiian island chain is made of dried lava. So is most of the earth.
As the lava spewing from Kilauea cools and solidifies, a thin layer of gray skin forms on its crust. An hour or so after the flow has moved on, the rock turns a lighter gray. Seach can walk on it then, in his thick-soled boots. Within a few years, grass and small colorful plants will typically sprout from solidified lava. Within decades, trees will be growing. And, centuries later, the lava will be transformed into a colorful landscape of tropical beauty. Until the volcano erupts and the lava starts flowing. And the process begins all over again.
The Hawaiian islands, with their lush tropical rainforest and deep ravines, waterfalls and palm trees, are a testament to the regenerative properties of cooled lava. All of them are the tips of volcanoes, poking through the ocean. The Big Island is made up of five separate volcanoes—three of which are still active—that over time have melded together. One of them, Mauna Kea ("white mountain," so-called because its peak is sometimes covered in ice), is the tallest mountain in the Pacific and, measured from the bottom of the seabed, is the highest mountain in the world. Its neighbour, Mauna Loa ("long mountain") is the most massive mountain on earth, containing 19,000 square miles of solid rock. Mauna Loa is also the world's largest active volcano. It last erupted in 1984, when its lava came within just four miles of destroying Hilo, the largest town on Hawaii's largest island, the Big Island of Hawaii. On the first day of its eruption, the lava traveled eight miles.
Forget eight miles—the Volcano House Hotel where we are staying, is, worryingly, right next to Kilauea's main crater. There's been a hotel on the site for 130 years—although, ominously, not always this building. Outside, a vast crater, almost three miles across and looking like a neat and symmetrically mined quarry, is puffing away. Steam and smoke filter up through numerous small fissures and vents. There is a small amount of vegetation, but it is clearly new. It's mostly harsh rock: gray and tan. We could be looking at the surface of the moon.
Seach reassures us that we can sleep soundly in our beds next to the world's most active volcano: "Kilauea has been spewing lava constantly for the past 21 years. It's the big volcanoes that you have been dormant for centuries that you have to worry about—the ones that are plugged by dried lava. They're the ones that explode."
He cites Vesuvius, the world's most famous volcano near Naples in southern Italy, which wiped out the city of Pompeii in A.D. 79, as special cause for concern. "It's overdue an eruption. It's not a case of 'if,' but 'when.' One million people live within four miles of the crater. It has the potential to be the biggest volcanic disaster in history."
When Krakatoa blew, the explosion was heard more than 2,000 miles away and 30-metre-high tsunamis hit the coasts of Java and Sumatra, killing 36,000 people. When Tambora erupted in Indonesia in, 1815, the ash and sulphur dioxide from the blast blocked out the sun, resulting in "a year without a summer" for much of the world in 1816.
Kilauea has been revered by locals for generations. It is said that a popular goddess named Pele has made her home in the volcano and her emergence from the crater is marked by an eruption. Eerily, photographs of Kilauea's lava fountains taken during major eruptions often appear to show the outline of a female form. The first European to visit and observe the volcano was an English clergyman, William Ellis, in 1823. What he wrote then still resonates today: "The roar of lava on a rainy night, flaming trees caught in the flow, smells of steam and sulphur, lava cascading over a pali (cliff or precipice), the spectacular meeting of lava and sea: These are the attractions of Kilauea that bring people to the volcano. Early Hawaiians came in fearful reverence, for Pele has always been unpredictable. Others came to see, hear and smell the power of nature."
"Kilauea is one of the great volcanoes of the world, because it is so active," says Seach. "It emits more lava than any other volcano, its lava is especially hot, and unlike most volcanoes it is also incredibly accessible. It's easy and safe to see the lava close up. It's in an American national park and everything is managed so well."
Apart from supplying the Smithsonian Institution with reports, Seach publishes on his own Web site—www.volcanolive.com—which he says gets 25 million hits a year. With 5,500 pages, it is an up-to-the-minute mine of information for any budding volcanologist. Seach is clearly unusual, but he rebuts any charge of eccentricity. "I'm getting to see the world how it is. We, the human race, are becoming more and more removed and isolated from nature. We feel safe in our never-changing environment. Even when people come to Hawaii to see the volcanoes, they usually spend more time over lunch in a cosy restaurant than they actually do out on the lava fields. I'm not the weird one—I'm just getting back to the world as it is."
Every morning he is there, Seach gets up at half past three to observe Kilauea's unstoppable lava fields heading for the sea. "The light is best first thing in the morning. Dawn is the best time. I want to be there when the lava hits the water. It is a fantastic sight."
Fifteen years after seeing his first volcanic eruption—an event that changed his life—Seach's enthusiasm is undimmed. "Volcanic eruptions have both a power that is quite literally earth-shattering and an awe-inspiring beauty. And it's all happening right in front of me. I feel privileged every time I see an eruption as I am aware that I am seeing the world changing physically. And I am usually completely alone, the only one to witness such an amazing spectacle."
JOIN IN There are now many companies offering expeditions to the world's most active volcanoes. Expeditions last from four days to two weeks, and can cost anything up to £4,000 each, excluding the cost of flights. But which one to visit? Here are a few of our hottest recommendations:
Ambrym, Vanuatu This is possibly the best volcano to visit in the world and with the right guide, it's even possible to camp every night up near the crater. It's a bit of a trek to the top, so you'll need to be reasonably fit, but it will give you the chance to see volcanic activity up close. There is a remoteness about Ambrym that makes it a very special experience.
Yasur, Vanuatu Isolated and beautiful, yet easier to ascend than Ambrym and it doesn't take as much time. You can do a combined trip to see both Yasur and Ambrym, and if you've the got the time, it's well worth the effort.
Etna, Sicily This is the volcano with the longest recorded history of eruptions—it's a spectacular sight set in a beautiful part of the world.
Arenal, Costa Rica Arenal is the youngest stratovolcano in Costa Rica and one of its most active. On the tourist trail, so a pampered holiday can be enjoyed at the same time as taking in the sight of Arenal erupting.
For more information, go to www.volcanolive.com.
As the lava spewing from Kilauea cools and solidifies, a thin layer of gray skin forms on its crust. An hour or so after the flow has moved on, the rock turns a lighter gray. Seach can walk on it then, in his thick-soled boots. Within a few years, grass and small colorful plants will typically sprout from solidified lava. Within decades, trees will be growing. And, centuries later, the lava will be transformed into a colorful landscape of tropical beauty. Until the volcano erupts and the lava starts flowing. And the process begins all over again.
The Hawaiian islands, with their lush tropical rainforest and deep ravines, waterfalls and palm trees, are a testament to the regenerative properties of cooled lava. All of them are the tips of volcanoes, poking through the ocean. The Big Island is made up of five separate volcanoes—three of which are still active—that over time have melded together. One of them, Mauna Kea ("white mountain," so-called because its peak is sometimes covered in ice), is the tallest mountain in the Pacific and, measured from the bottom of the seabed, is the highest mountain in the world. Its neighbour, Mauna Loa ("long mountain") is the most massive mountain on earth, containing 19,000 square miles of solid rock. Mauna Loa is also the world's largest active volcano. It last erupted in 1984, when its lava came within just four miles of destroying Hilo, the largest town on Hawaii's largest island, the Big Island of Hawaii. On the first day of its eruption, the lava traveled eight miles.
Forget eight miles—the Volcano House Hotel where we are staying, is, worryingly, right next to Kilauea's main crater. There's been a hotel on the site for 130 years—although, ominously, not always this building. Outside, a vast crater, almost three miles across and looking like a neat and symmetrically mined quarry, is puffing away. Steam and smoke filter up through numerous small fissures and vents. There is a small amount of vegetation, but it is clearly new. It's mostly harsh rock: gray and tan. We could be looking at the surface of the moon.
Seach reassures us that we can sleep soundly in our beds next to the world's most active volcano: "Kilauea has been spewing lava constantly for the past 21 years. It's the big volcanoes that you have been dormant for centuries that you have to worry about—the ones that are plugged by dried lava. They're the ones that explode."
He cites Vesuvius, the world's most famous volcano near Naples in southern Italy, which wiped out the city of Pompeii in A.D. 79, as special cause for concern. "It's overdue an eruption. It's not a case of 'if,' but 'when.' One million people live within four miles of the crater. It has the potential to be the biggest volcanic disaster in history."
When Krakatoa blew, the explosion was heard more than 2,000 miles away and 30-metre-high tsunamis hit the coasts of Java and Sumatra, killing 36,000 people. When Tambora erupted in Indonesia in, 1815, the ash and sulphur dioxide from the blast blocked out the sun, resulting in "a year without a summer" for much of the world in 1816.
Kilauea has been revered by locals for generations. It is said that a popular goddess named Pele has made her home in the volcano and her emergence from the crater is marked by an eruption. Eerily, photographs of Kilauea's lava fountains taken during major eruptions often appear to show the outline of a female form. The first European to visit and observe the volcano was an English clergyman, William Ellis, in 1823. What he wrote then still resonates today: "The roar of lava on a rainy night, flaming trees caught in the flow, smells of steam and sulphur, lava cascading over a pali (cliff or precipice), the spectacular meeting of lava and sea: These are the attractions of Kilauea that bring people to the volcano. Early Hawaiians came in fearful reverence, for Pele has always been unpredictable. Others came to see, hear and smell the power of nature."
"Kilauea is one of the great volcanoes of the world, because it is so active," says Seach. "It emits more lava than any other volcano, its lava is especially hot, and unlike most volcanoes it is also incredibly accessible. It's easy and safe to see the lava close up. It's in an American national park and everything is managed so well."
Apart from supplying the Smithsonian Institution with reports, Seach publishes on his own Web site—www.volcanolive.com—which he says gets 25 million hits a year. With 5,500 pages, it is an up-to-the-minute mine of information for any budding volcanologist. Seach is clearly unusual, but he rebuts any charge of eccentricity. "I'm getting to see the world how it is. We, the human race, are becoming more and more removed and isolated from nature. We feel safe in our never-changing environment. Even when people come to Hawaii to see the volcanoes, they usually spend more time over lunch in a cosy restaurant than they actually do out on the lava fields. I'm not the weird one—I'm just getting back to the world as it is."
Every morning he is there, Seach gets up at half past three to observe Kilauea's unstoppable lava fields heading for the sea. "The light is best first thing in the morning. Dawn is the best time. I want to be there when the lava hits the water. It is a fantastic sight."
Fifteen years after seeing his first volcanic eruption—an event that changed his life—Seach's enthusiasm is undimmed. "Volcanic eruptions have both a power that is quite literally earth-shattering and an awe-inspiring beauty. And it's all happening right in front of me. I feel privileged every time I see an eruption as I am aware that I am seeing the world changing physically. And I am usually completely alone, the only one to witness such an amazing spectacle."
JOIN IN There are now many companies offering expeditions to the world's most active volcanoes. Expeditions last from four days to two weeks, and can cost anything up to £4,000 each, excluding the cost of flights. But which one to visit? Here are a few of our hottest recommendations:
Ambrym, Vanuatu This is possibly the best volcano to visit in the world and with the right guide, it's even possible to camp every night up near the crater. It's a bit of a trek to the top, so you'll need to be reasonably fit, but it will give you the chance to see volcanic activity up close. There is a remoteness about Ambrym that makes it a very special experience.
Yasur, Vanuatu Isolated and beautiful, yet easier to ascend than Ambrym and it doesn't take as much time. You can do a combined trip to see both Yasur and Ambrym, and if you've the got the time, it's well worth the effort.
Etna, Sicily This is the volcano with the longest recorded history of eruptions—it's a spectacular sight set in a beautiful part of the world.
Arenal, Costa Rica Arenal is the youngest stratovolcano in Costa Rica and one of its most active. On the tourist trail, so a pampered holiday can be enjoyed at the same time as taking in the sight of Arenal erupting.
For more information, go to www.volcanolive.com.
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