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How Kilauea’s lava fed a massive phytoplankton bloom

Superhot molten rock may have churned up a key deep-sea nutrient

Hawaii's Big Island

As lava from Kilauea poured into the ocean in June of 2018, a vast field of algae bloomed off the coast of Hawaii’s Big Island.

U.S. Coast Guard

By Carolyn Gramling

- More than 2 years ago

Kilauea’s 2018 eruption gave a surprising boost to ocean algae.

Metals in the lava could have helped fuel a 150-kilometer-long phytoplankton bloom off the coast of Hawaii — but unexpectedly, heat was an even more important ingredient.