It's literally raining gems in Hawaii?

 

  

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JUN 13, 2018 @ 12:49 PM 115,264 2 Free Issues of Forbes

Hawaii's Volcano Is Literally Erupting Gems

Trevor Nace , CONTRIBUTOR Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

Small olivine crystals on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Hawaii's Kilauea volcano has been fiercely erupting for well over a month. Now, residents are finding little green gems that have fallen out of the sky during Kilauea's eruption.

The green gems are olivine crystals, a common mineral found in Hawaii's lava. At jewelry quality, the mineral is called peridot. As the volcano erupts, it blasts apart molten lava, allowing for green olivine minerals to be separated from the rest of the melt and fall as tiny gemstones.

Lava spews in Kilauea's East Rift Zone on May 23, 2018 in Pahoa, Hawaii, amid eruptions from the Kilauea volcano. - Kilauea is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and one of five on the Big Island of Hawaii. It erupted May 3, forcing the evacuation of 2,000 people from their homes located on the mountain. Scientists believe volcanic activity may be a precursor to a major eruption, similar to one that occurred on the island in the mid-1920s. (RONIT FAHL/AFP/Getty Images)

There are several places in Hawaii that the beaches are a green color, this is due to a high concentration of olivine that has weathered out of the mafic lava (basalt). In fact, olivine is one of the most common minerals below Earth's surface but it is quite hard to find it separated from the parent rock and even harder to find it of gem quality.

Papakolea Beach with green sand, Big Island Hawaii

Olivine is so common that experts estimate over 50 percent of Earth's upper mantle is composed of olivine or variations of the mineral. While it is a common mineral, little crystals of olivine falling out of the sky are quite unusual.

Erin Jordan

✔@ErinJordan_WX

Friends of mine live in Hawaii, right next to the area impacted by the most recent lava flows. In the midst of the destruction nearby & stress of the unknown, they woke up to this - tiny pieces of olivine all over the ground. It is literally raining gems. Nature is truly amazing.

5:14 AM - Jun 11, 2018

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Hawaii's volcanoes are hotspots, where the mantle magma continually upwells and burns a hole through Earth's oceanic crust. Oceanic crust, in composition, is very similar to what we would find in the upper mantle with high olivine concentrations.

This means the true composition of the upper mantle is not significantly altered when erupted on Hawaii's surface as basalt. The reason we get a variety of other rocks on continents is largely due to magma traveling through the varied geology that underlies each continent. This adds and removes chemicals/minerals and alters the original composition of the magma from basalt to a unique blend of minerals.

Some olivines that popped out of an a'a flow. Kilauea's little gems. #hawaii #kilauea #olivine#lovevolcanoes https://t.co/1X2ACcWu7npic.twitter.com/8UaA1IrKEd

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GEOetc@GEOetc2

Some olivines that popped out of an a'a flow. Kilauea's little gems. #hawaii #kilauea #olivine #lovevolcanoes http://www.geoetc.com 

2:47 PM - Jun 10, 2018

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Olivine can be found throughout the island, typically as a mineral within the basalt rock. However, from the continuous pounding of waves or construction, the minerals can be broken away from the surrounding basalt.

Typically, olivine erupts with the calm oozing of basalt lava on Hawaii, locking it away within the rock fabric. However, in this instance the sudden ejection of lava into the air rapidly cools and separates the melt, allowing the olivine to lithify as a separate crystal.

Ash plume rises from forest following a massive volcano eruption on Kilauea volcano in Hawaii, the United States on May 22, 2018. Lava is spewing more than 60 metres into the air and spread around 36,000 square meters. (USGS / Handout/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Need another reason to travel to Hawaii? How about tiny gemstones falling out of the sky? This is just another reason why Hawaii is a magical and unique place unlike any other on Earth. Only time will tell how the uniquely prolonged eruption plays out and what next will dazzle us from Hawaii's Kilauea volcano.

Trevor Nace is a PhD geologist, founder of Science Trends, Forbes contributor, and explorer. Follow his journey @trevornace.

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