Spencer

[Tank]

as you're a geologist, i have a question. during the recent volcanic eruption in hawaii, the lava flow destroyed several structures as it advanced slowly each day. what i'm wondering is why didn't they drop water on the lava? surrounded on all sides by an ocean, so water availability presumably isn't an issue. why let it keep going unchecked to the point of destroying people's homes?

[deepdrive]

as you're a geologist, i have a question. during the recent volcanic eruption in hawaii, the lava flow destroyed several structures as it advanced slowly each day. what i'm wondering is why didn't they drop water on the lava? surrounded on all sides by an ocean, so water availability presumably isn't an issue. why let it keep going unchecked to the point of destroying people's homes?

 

Here we go again, applying good common sense to real world problems. Um... Tank, did you forget how boring this world would be if we did things this way?

[arch stanton]

I'm not a geologist but I heard on the radio they were saying that since the lava has to go somewhere that rerouting it just makes it the next guy's problem so they prefer to let it flow naturally.

[wopphil]

I think lava is thousands of degrees hot. Way hotter than fire. I would assume the water would instantly turn to vapor and do nothing to stop the lava.

[Spencer]

Lava is hot. Super hot. Hell is colder than lava.

Water could conceiveably cool it down, and being an island, there is an endless supply. Some quick googling brought up an instance in Iceland where they did exactly that.

But here's the thing: while the water and steam could help dissipate heat at the leading edge of the flow, you might end up diverting it into an unexpected direction.

In Iceland, they were going to lose an important shipping port. That makes for a serious economic impact, well worth the effort.

With Kiluea, they'll watch some homes burn.

Yeah brah! Evict those haoles with fire!!

[TobiasFunke]

Not even the ocean stops lava (see: wen that shit first dumps in the water.

[Mark68]

Being that Hawaii consists entirely of volcanoes that built their way from the ocean floor (if you measure Mauna Loa from ocean floor to summit, it's taller than Everest), I have my doubts as to whether water will do much to stop lava. Didn't really keep the Hawaiian Islands from forming, after all.

[Spencer]

Mother nature is an unstoppable bitch

[Jason]

 

I'm not a geologist but I heard on the radio they were saying that since the lava has to go somewhere that rerouting it just makes it the next guy's problem so they prefer to let it flow naturally.

 

I saw a movie with Tommy Lee Jones and it worked so that can't be true.

[Mark68]

 

 

I saw a movie with Tommy Lee Jones and it worked so that can't be true.

Not enough K-rails on the Big Island. They're all being used on Honolulu freeways.