Pele's hair

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Pele's hair, with a hand lens as scale Pele's hair of Hawaii.JPG
Pele's hair, with a hand lens as scale
Strands of Pele's hair under microscope view Pele's hair.JPG
Strands of Pele's hair under microscope view

Pele's hair (closest modern Hawaiian translation: lauoho o Pele) [1] is a volcanic glass formation produced from cooled lava stretched into thin strands, usually from lava fountains, lava cascades, or vigorous lava flows. It is named after Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes. [2]

Contents

Occurrence

Mentions of this type of lava can be found in 18th Century Hawaiian newspapers where it is called "Lauoho o Pele," "Lauoho Pele," and "Lauoho ehuehu a Pele."[ citation needed ]

Wind often carries the light fibers high into the air and to places several kilometers away from the vent. Strands of Pele's hair commonly gather on high places like treetops, radio antennas, and electric poles.

Pele's hair has been produced by volcanoes around the world, for example in Nicaragua (Masaya), Italy (Etna), Ethiopia (Erta’ Ale), and Iceland, where it is known as nornahár [ˈnɔ(r)tnaˌhauːr̥] ('witches' hair'). [3] It is usually found in gaps in the ground, mostly near vents, skylights, ocean entry, or in corners where Pele's hair can accumulate.

Touching Pele's hair is not recommended, because it is very brittle and very sharp, and small broken pieces can enter the skin. Gloves should be worn while examining it.

Pele's hair may occur along with Pele's tears, small pieces of solidified lava drops. [3] Both provide information to volcanologists about the eruption, such as the temperatures and the magma's path to the surface. Plagioclase starts to crystallize from the magma of Pele's hair at around 1,160 °C (about 2120 °F). [4] Also, the shape of the tears can provide an indication of the velocity of the eruption, and the bubbles of gas and particles trapped within the tears can provide information about the composition of the magma chamber.

Pele's hair caught on a radio antenna mounted on the south rim of Pu`u `O`o, Hawai`i, July 22, 2005 Peleshair on antenna.jpg
Pele's hair caught on a radio antenna mounted on the south rim of Puʻu ʻŌʻō, Hawaiʻi, July 22, 2005

Formation

First description by J. Dana, 1849 1949-Dana-Pelehair.jpg
First description by J. Dana, 1849
Pele's hair on a pahoehoe flow at Kilauea Volcano, Hawai`i, March 27, 1984 Peleshair USGS.jpg
Pele's hair on a pahoehoe flow at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaiʻi, March 27, 1984

The strands are created when molten lava is ejected into the air and form tiny droplets, which elongate perfectly straight. It usually forms in lava fountains, lava cascades, and vigorous lava flows. [3]

Features

Pele's hair has a golden yellow color and looks like human hair or dry straw. In sunlight, it has a shimmering gold color. Length varies considerably, but is typically 5 to 15 cm, and can be up to 2 m. [5] Hair diameter ranges from about 1 to 300 μm (0.001 to 0.3 mm).

See also

References

  1. "Definition of Pele's hair". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved 2021-05-16.
  2. Shimozuru, Daisuke (1994). "Physical parameters governing the formation of Pele's hair and tears". Bulletin of Volcanology. 56 (3): 217–219. Bibcode:1994BVol...56..217S. doi:10.1007/BF00279606.
  3. 1 2 3 Duffield, W. A.; Gibson Jr., E. K.; Heiken, G. H. (1977). "Some characteristics of Pele's hair" (PDF). Journal of Research of the U. S. Geological Survey. 5 (1): 93–101.
  4. Katsura, Takashi (1967). "Pele's hair as a liquid of Hawaiian tholeiitic basalts" (PDF). Geochemical Journal. 1 (4): 157–168. Bibcode:1967GeocJ...1..157K. doi: 10.2343/geochemj.1.157 .
  5. Herzog, G. F; et al. (2009). "Isotopic and elemental abundances of copper and zinc in lunar samples, Zagami, Pele's hairs, and a terrestrial basalt". Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 73 (19): 5884–5904. Bibcode:2009GeCoA..73.5884H. doi:10.1016/j.gca.2009.05.067.

Bibliography