Massive Ice Loss from the Mauna Loa Icecave, Hawaii. Issue 1 (1st February 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Pflitsch, Andreas; Schörghofer, Norbert; Smith, Stephen M.; Holmgren, David
• Is Part Of: Arctic, antarctic, and alpine research. Volume 48:Issue 1(2016)
• Page Start: 33
• Page End: 43
• Publication Date: 2016-02-01
• Subjects: Polar regions -- Periodicals; Alpine regions -- Periodicals; Alpine regions; Cold Climate; Arctic Regions; Electronic journals; Periodicals; 570.998
• DOI: 10.1657/AAAR0014-095
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1523-0430

Abstract

ABSTRACT: We provide the first detailed documentation of a lava tube cave with permanent ice on the Hawaiian Islands. "Mauna Loa Icecave" had been surveyed in 1978; we periodically visited the cave and monitored temperature, humidity, and ice levels from 2011 to 2014. Perennial ice still blocks the lava tube at the terminal end, but a previously present large ice floor (estimated 260 m 2 ) has disappeared. A secondary mineral deposited on the cave walls is interpreted as the result of past sustained ice levels. Airflow measurements, scallop patterns in the ice, strong temperature and humidity variations, and ice volume fluctuations indicate ventilation of the cave, which suggests that additional ice loss could occur rapidly. The scientific potential of the ice record remains to be explored, before it is lost.