Tuesday 29 November 2022 11:36 AM Watch Mauna Loa erupt from space in incredible satellite footage trends now

Tuesday 29 November 2022 11:36 AM Watch Mauna Loa erupt from space in incredible satellite footage trends now
Tuesday 29 November 2022 11:36 AM Watch Mauna Loa erupt from space in incredible satellite footage trends now

Tuesday 29 November 2022 11:36 AM Watch Mauna Loa erupt from space in incredible satellite footage trends now

Hawaii's Mauna Loa ('Long Mountain') is the world's largest active volcano. 

It is one of five volcanoes that form the Island of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean that make up the US state of Hawaii. 

It rises 13,679 feet (4,169 metres) above sea level and makes up about half of the island's land mass. 

The volcano started to erupt late Sunday night, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), for the first time since 1984. 

Early Monday (November 28), lava flows were contained within the summit area and weren't threatening nearby communities. 

USGS does not believe there is any risk of magma fall, but an ash fall advisory has been issued and some residents have begun to voluntarily evacuate. 

The eruption remains confined within the basin at the top of the volcano, called the caldera. 

WHY IS MAUNA LOA ERUPTING? 

Mauna Loa has had magma sitting under the surface since the last eruption in 1984. USGS has said Mauna Loa is expanding as more magma accumulates beneath the surface.

Geologists had recorded an increase in the number of earthquakes in the Mauna Loa region between August and October. 

Dr Jessica Johnson, a volcano geophysicist at the University of East Anglia, said it's unclear why Mauna Loa has started erupting again now.

'It could be because a new pulse of magma has been added to the reservoir, or it could be because the pressure has built up over time,' she told MailOnline.

'Monitoring data from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory has shown that Mauna Loa has been inflating – indicating magma accumulation – for several years, and increased small earthquakes – indicating magma pushing through rocks – for several months.

'Mauna Loa is considered active, even when lava is not coming out of the ground. This is because there is a magma supply, that could erupt.'

Volcanoes erupt because of the way heat moves beneath Earth's surface. Heat is conveyed from the planet’s interior to its surface

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