March
March started out with a bang, as the crater floor at Pu`u O`o collapsed. This was followed closely by the opening of a new fissure on Kilauea, what came to be called the “Kamoamoa” eruption. This new fissure would erupt for the next few weeks and was the first activity at Kilauea outside of the Pu`u O`o or Halema`uma`u area in years. However, by the end of the month, activity was returning to normal and the Kamoamoa eruption was over. The biggest news of the month, however, was not volcanic but rather the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan – we did see eruptions of Kirishima and Sakurajima after the earthquake but so far the “predicted” eruption of Fuji following the earthquake never materialized. Speaking of which, remember how the Supermoon caused global catastrophies on March 18? Yeah, me neither. In the Philippines, carbon dioxide emissions at Taal were on the rise, along with the seismicity. I also looked at the prospects of drilling into the mantle – and why it isn’t entirely necessary.
Image: The Kamoamoa Fissure on Kilauea seen in mid March, 2011. Image from HVO/USGS webcam.