Limu o Pele or Pele's seaweed (
Hawaiian, literally "seaweed of Pele" after
Pele the Hawaiian fire goddess of
volcano
A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.
On Earth, volcanoes are most oft ...
es) is a geological term for thin sheets and subsequently shattered flakes of brownish-green to near-colorless
volcanic glass lava
Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...
spatter, commonly resembling
seaweed
Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. The term includes some types of ''Rhodophyta'' (red), '' Phaeophyta'' (brown) and ''Chlorophyta'' (green) macroalgae. Seaweed species such as ...
in appearance, that have been erupted from a
volcano
A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.
On Earth, volcanoes are most oft ...
. Limu o Pele is formed when water is forced into and trapped inside lava, as when waves wash over the top of the exposed flows of the molten rock. The water boils and is instantly converted to steam, expanding to form bubbles within the lava. The lava rapidly cools and solidifies as the bubbles grow. The volcanic glass bubbles burst and are dispersed by the wind, showering flakes of glass downwind.
Limu o Pele has been found around subaerial
littoral volcanic cones and also at
submarine volcanoes, for example, on the summit of
Kamaʻehuakanaloa (formerly Lōʻihi)
seamount
A seamount is a large submarine landform that rises from the ocean floor without reaching the water surface (sea level), and thus is not an island, islet, or cliff-rock. Seamounts are typically formed from extinct volcanoes that rise abruptly a ...
.
[Clague, D. A. et al. (2000) ''Lava bubble-wall fragments formed by submarine hydrovolcanic explosions on Lōʻihi Seamount and Kılauea Volcano'', Bulletin of Volcanology, volume 61 pages 437–449.]
See also
*
Pele's hair
*
Pele's tears
References
External links
Limu o Pele - USGS Photo Glossary
* ttp://www.mbari.org/expeditions/ridges2005/august_15.htm Images of Limu o Pele, MBARI Ridges 2005 Expedition
Volcanology
Glass in nature
Hawaiian words and phrases
{{volcanology-stub
he:היאלוקלאסטיט#אצת פלה