Hawaii News Now article today, lava fountain reaches 1,000 feet at Kilauea. How do they measure that?

[rickandcindy23]

 

[geist1223]

Triangle.

 

[easyrider]

Now I want to head to Big Island and see some lava.

Bill

 

[Passepartout]

Will be there in Early May. Hope it's still 'fountaining'. (is that a verb?)

 

[ScoopKona]

a² + b² = c²

Or, more correctly

tan (x) = opposite (1000 feet) / adjacent (a known linear distance between the vent and the position of the person measuring the angle, x)

 

[easyrider]

Will be there in Early May. Hope it's still 'fountaining'. (is that a verb?)

Yup. It might catch on if you use it enough.

Bill

 

[Passepartout]

a² + b² = c²

Pretty basic 'rithmetic. Follows readin', and rightin'.

 

[billymach4]

There's an app for that

 

[WaikikiFirst]

There's an app for that

Two responses came to my mind (other than the math as above, which I assumed was the case, esp as the "answer" ends in 3 "0"s, so really, it has 2 "significant digits")
2. same as yours
1. Very Carefully

 

[4TimeAway]

a² + b² = c²

How's the air looking these days?

 

[ScoopKona]

How's the air looking these days?

A little hazy. There's a monitoring station two miles north of my location. (I wasn't about to pay the extra $10K for the air quality meter on my weather station.)

Last I checked it was in the 50s. (0 is perfect, 100 is "go inside for your own good.)

Here's my weather station (I'm part of the NOAA CWOP program.) http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/wxpage.cgi?call=GW5360&last=240

And you can always check out the live cam on my farm's website. You can see from Honaunau Beach (Two Step) to just south of the Captain Cook memorial site.

 

[davidvel]

View attachment 108357

Science, experts, people who know how to do the things that they are educated and trained in. Just like everything else in the world.

Similar to how firefighters know how to fight fire, and paramedics and doctors know how to treat medical issues.

 

[easyrider]

Science, experts, people who know how to do the things that they are educated and trained in. Just like everything else in the world.

Similar to how firefighters know how to fight fire, and paramedics and doctors know how to treat medical issues.

Actually, they use an instrument called a digital theodolite which is a surveying tool. I have a couple of these but neither is digital. I used them mostly to check elevation on lots or to set grade.

Bill

 

[rickandcindy23]

Actually, they use an instrument called a digital theodolite which is a surveying tool. I have a couple of these but neither is digital. I used them mostly to check elevation on lots or to set grade.

Bill

Rick would agree that it's always best to have the right tools.

I wondered about measuring and how accurate it really could be with the distance onlookers have to keep from the actual lava fountain.

I am sure there are warnings about air quality that would keep some from traveling to the island.

 

[easyrider]

Rick would agree that it's always best to have the right tools.

I wondered about measuring and how accurate it really could be with the distance onlookers have to keep from the actual lava fountain.

I am sure there are warnings about air quality that would keep some from traveling to the island.

The digital theodolite basically is an expensive transit. The instrument would be centered over a known elevation pin. The scope would capture the height and distance by measuring the horizontal and vertical angles.

Bill

 

[JIMinNC]

I would also think they could “eyeball it” and get pretty close. They know how far it is from the vent up to the rim of the crater, and based on that and how far above or below the rim the fountaining tops out, they could probably get close.

We were lucky enough to see fountains in February, but they were nothing like the more recent ones.

 

[Henry M.]

Jim,

How can you get the citrus that are almost eye-level? Can you somehow getdown to the caldera or do you use a drone/other device?

Very nice pictures.

 

[JIMinNC]

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[JIMinNC]

Jim,

How can you get the citrus that are almost eye-level? Can you somehow getdown to the caldera or do you use a drone/other device?

Very nice pictures.

These were taken from the Keanakako’i Overlook. You park at the Devastation Trail parking lot and then walk about 8/10 of a mile down a closed portion of Crater Rim Drive, then down a short unpaved path to the overlook. These were taken with a Canon R5 Mk II camera with a 100-400mm zoom lens.

Here is an iPhone shot showing the people. We got there early when there was still plenty of parking. The crowd built as we watched and the lot was full when we got back to our car.

 

[dioxide45]

Jim,

How can you get the citrus that are almost eye-level? Can you somehow getdown to the caldera or do you use a drone/other device?

Very nice pictures.

Since it is a National Park, flying a drone would be a no go.

 

[Henry M.]

thanks for the explanations!