Volcano diving

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Snoweman

Untroubled Troll
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Messages
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Location
Atlanta, GA
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Are there any dives that take divers up to where the lava is entering the sea?
 
Aside from kicking the dead horse of liability/waiver stuff. yadda yadda.

Does the Coast Guard or local law enforcement care much? Evacuation areas need security. I don't know that a lava flow into the sea is worth much manpower? I don't have the skills to make that giant stride but I could see a possible allure provided visibility is of any account. Not sure I would do it just to hear the crunching and crackling underwater. Speaking of which, would said crackling and crunching be a potential health risk to the ears? I know nothing about it. Just curious how loud it might be underwater.
 
AFAIK thats really far from where any dive op goes, Even the Kona Aggressor, which doesn't have to go back to port, only goes as far as near the southerly end of the island which is on the order of 50 miles. To the lava is like another 50 miles, and I think conditions can be pretty rough if you go around to the easterly side of the island. Hilo is a little closer (still pretty far) and there are dive ops, but they may be more about local shore diving. (I doubt they would do it either, even if it didn't sound like a "hold my beer" moment.)

But there's this - Big Island Lava Tours | Hawaii Volcano Tours - Lava Ocean Tours
 
There were excursions on boats going to watch the lava flow into the ocean but it stopped flowing just before I got there last month. One guy I talked to said the water was very hot (he stuck his finger in it). Of course now the lava is flowing into the ocean again and I've not heard of any dives and my guess is that it's simply too dangerous for anyone to offer it as a dive. Maybe you could rent a boat and give it a try but I'm thinking you might need a thick wetsuit or drysuit to insulate against the heat and if you get close enough to get some good video it might melt your GoPro housing. If you do it be sure and post the videos!
 
I found this video from 2008.

Need to save this link for every time I come across a rocket scientist asking why we don't just spray water on the lava to make it go somewhere else, i.e. away from a person's house.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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