How can an island be growing in lava lake atop Hawaii volcano? Scientists have ideas

[TexasTowelie]

One of the most intensely watched elements of the ongoing eruption of Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano is an island that mysteriously formed early on in the crater’s fiery lava lake.

It’s about seven acres in size and drifting like a raft.

The U.S. Geological Survey has been monitoring this deadly oasis since the start of the eruption on Dec. 20, noting its growth and mystifying movements. On Thursday, the island measured 820 feet long and 440 feet wide and stood about 26 feet above the lava lake’s surface, officials wrote on Facebook.

This defies logic for most people, who understand molten lava to be something that melts, well, just about everything.

And that’s not wrong. The USGS says the magma still squirting from a fissure in Kilauea’s crater wall is somewhere between 1,830 and 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit.

Read more and view video: https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article248206265.html

[SunSeeker]

1. Next time Kilauea blows, that island will be quite a projectile!

[TexasTowelie]

2. Considering that Trump is upset with the renovations at Mar-a-Lago,

maybe he could make a visit to the island while he waits for the repairs to be completed.

[SunSeeker]

3. Yes he should! That is prime land for golf course development!

[abqtommy]

4. The volcano was unavailable for comment...

[The Roux Comes First]

5. My First Thought Was That "Someone" Needs to Plant a Flag on that Island!

Now admittedly, a good deal of asbestos or other heat-resistive material will be needed, not to mention evasion of park service security, but I imagine there are already late-teens and twenty-year-olds fantasizing about something like this.

I was part of a much less hazardous scheme back in the '70's, with a chum boarding an ice floe in our skivvies in an alpine lake and "surfing" a hundred yards or so. I'm guessing video of that may still exist.

[dutch777]

6. Make it Trump's Elba!

NY AG can offer him that in exchange for dropping a charge or two. And that proximity to lava will enhance his tan significantly.