Hawai'i was the 50th state to join the USA. It comprises 132 islands and is said to be the home of volcanic islands. These islands reside in the Central Pacific Ocean. Moana Loa is one of the top most active volcanoes that had formed the island of Hawaii in the ocean (Networks, 2016). The movement of plate tectonics has resulted in the volcanic eruption and, however, the volcano towering and presence of valleys had a significant impact on the economic value.
Theory of plate tectonics
Plate tectonics theory explains that upper layer of the earth’s surface is segregated into various plates that float over the mantle. Mantle is the inner layer over the core layer. The outer layer is the strongest, referred as lithosphere. The agenda of plate tectonics is to convect the mantle. It causes material located near Earth's core to become hotter and the colder one to descend. This process involves a mixture of expansion and impulsion to set aside at mid-ocean ridges and sinks downwards towards subduction zone (Oskin, 2016).
Factors that influence the location and intensity of earthquake and volcanoes in Hawaii
Pacific plate movements cause earthquakes in Huwaii. Energy is produced when the movement of pacific plate interacts with other plate. The earthquakes in this region have a low intensity but are occurred often. It has also been contributing towards the eruption of volcanoes. Since the earthquakes caused are minor in nature, the volcanic activity doesn’t cause much destruction.
Main movement within the plate tectonics
Hawaii is widely known for its active volcanoes. Underneath the lithosphere lies asthenosphere layer. Under the layer of the asthenosphere, deep down lies the hot spot from which the Hawaii volcanic eruptions are caused. The hot spots are the major source of magma towards the surface. Hot spots are immobile in nature with due respect to the movement of the lithosphere, and so the series of volcanoes are formed on the overlaid plates. Pacific plate bulges upwards due to the uplift from hotspot creating Hawaiin swell estimating of 400km wide. The huge swell invites excess mass mantle materials to become closer to the surface, resulting in bit higher gravity surrounding the chain of Hawaii. In the meanwhile, volcanoes are loaded on the heat-weakened swell that bends the center downwards. The blend of these two activities forms a wide broad m-shaped outline (Macdonald, 1983).
Geological events and rock formation
As mentioned earlier, Hawaii is considered as the home of volcanoes since most active volcanoes reside here. The top most volcanoes are Kilauea, Mauna Kea, Hualalai, Kohala and Mauna Loa. According to the recent study, Kilaea is the most active one. These volcanoes produce a rock known as basalt (kenrubin, 2013). Basalt rock is formed from Hawaii volcanoes. The high fluid liquid is produced by the molten basalt lava as compared to volcanic eruptions. Such fluidity is the source of lava flows causing mild slides at Hawaii. Black sand is produced out of it which is formed when molten lava experiences the extremely low-temperature oceanic water in the explosion. However, they are short lived. Ash consisting rocks, mineral, and volcanic glasses is also created as a result of volcanic eruptions. The smashing of rocks and aggressive detachment of magma into many tiny pieces results in the creation of ash. Limu O Pele is formed when pahoehoe lava mixes with the ocean. Pahoehoe lava is characterized as a flat and thick surface. The new lava has a fine crust reflects the light in luminous colors. Lapilli was found in 1760 during the eruption of Kilauea. Lapilli comprises of ash particles and is not bigger than a pea. It is formed when ash blends with raindrops in the explosive clouds. The green sand beach was formed when olivine-rich lava met the ocean (Hamilton, 2010).
Relationship between characteristics of these rocks and geological events
The intense earthquakes and destructive volcanoes loose volcanic materials in the form of massive igneous rocks such as basalt. The dominating volcanoes are olivine basalts and basalts, picrite-basalts and basaltic andesites. The factors that influence the lava flow fluidity includes temperature, gas content and chemical composition. For instance, the explosiveness pricite-basalt magma is due to the lower temperature and lesser gas content. Lava eruption forms these volcanoes results in the production of other Hawaii rocks.
Economic Value
Basalt rock is commonly found. It is dark in color and contains olivine, iron ore, orthopyroxene and many others. Basalt rock is used in multiple industries. Architecture industry uses basalt in the construction of houses, hotels, and other buildings. Tiles, decoration pieces, building and paving stones require basalt salt. Also, it plays an essential role in commercial purposes, fuel reservoirs, artwork creation, and commemorative tablets. The distinctive characteristics of basalt rock such as the texture, appearance helps in the creation of antique and decorative pieces (Karabul, 2015). The green sand beach is among the four green sand beaches across the globe. Its amazing color is due to the presence of mineral olivine which is considered as the diamond of Hawaii (Cui, 2013). It has been the main source of tourist attraction leading to earning in foreign exchange. The volcanic ash has proved to be beneficial plant as this ash comprises of minerals. It gets easily mixed with the soil. Also, it is used in the manufacturing of body-care and toiletries such as household cleaners, hand soap shampoos, and son on (Survey, 2005).
Conclusion
Hawaii being the home of active volcanoes has given birth to new islands and land. Despite the destruction caused by volcanoes, volcanoes erupting at Hawaii have resulted in beautiful landscapes and formation of various rocks that are now used for commercial purposes being a source of income to the business. The amazing landscapes of Hawaii have lured the tourists leading to earning in foreign exchange.
References
Cui, H. a. (2013). Spatial and temporal variation in enterococcal abundance and its relationship to the microbial community in Hawaii beach sand and water. Applied and environmental microbiology, 79(12), 3601--3609.
Hamilton, C. &. (2010). Hawaiian Volcanic Rocks. Retrieved December 28, 2016, from Scienceviews.com: http://scienceviews.com/islands/hawaiianrocks.html
Karabul, Y. a. (2015). Computation of EABF and EBF for basalt rock samples. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, 797, 29--36.
kenrubin. (2013, June 10). The Formation of the Hawaiian Islands. Retrieved December 28, 2016, from Soest.hawaii.edu: https://www.soest.hawaii.edu/GG/HCV/haw_formation.html
Macdonald, G. A. (1983). Volcanoes in the sea: the geology of Hawaii. University of Hawaii Press.
Networks, A. T. (2016). Hawaii. Retrieved December 28, 2016, from History .com: http://www.history.com/topics/us-states/hawaii
Survey, K. G. (2005, Jan). Uses of Volcanic Ash--Present and Potential. Retrieved December 28, 2016, from kgs.ku.edu: http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Publications/Bulletins/96/06_uses.html
