Hawaii is a wild and crazy land full of mystery. They have volcanoes that are spewing hot lava right now and that’s causing a whole bunch of other problems. Some people may not see this next thing as a problem, but gemstones are falling from the sky.
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A few tweets have let us know that these gemstones, called olivine, are showing up in bunches.
https://twitter.com/ErinJordan_WX/status/1006147665275453440
Now I know some of you are saying, “How can this be real?!” I mean that’s what I was saying so I just assume you are like me…
Anyways, Cheryl Gansecki who is a geologist at the University of Hawaii-Hilo said this according to Mashable:
“Yes, the lava that is erupting now is very crystal-rich and it is quite possible that residents might be finding olivine. It can be carried in the pumice [rapidly cooled lava] pieces that have been rained all over the area.”
Some olivines that popped out of an a'a flow. Kilauea's little gems. #hawaii #kilauea #olivine #lovevolcanoes https://t.co/1X2ACcWu7n pic.twitter.com/8UaA1IrKEd
— GEOetc (@GEOetc2) June 10, 2018
These olivine gems are the first things to form solid after the magma begins to cool underground. Now that the Kilauea volcanoes are still erupting, we find these gemstones.
According to IFL Science, Hawaii is already full of olivine which has been deposited across the island over time. A beach on The Big Island is basically made up of the substance.
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The Papakolea Beach is made of eroded olivine gems that have come from years of volcanic activity. Since the crushed gems are heavier than your average sand, that has since washed away and brought Hawaii a very rare green beach.
Wendy Stovall who is a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientist was out studying Kilauea and did find samples of olivine in the lava but didn’t find any separated gems on her own.
It's 'raining' green crystals in Hawaii, thanks to Kilauea volcano eruption:
https://t.co/C8R4x16BuS via @usatoday
"It is literally raining gems!" 💎💎
Kinda cool – the beauty that comes from the challenges…
Our thoughts are with everyone affected 💙#hawaiivolcano pic.twitter.com/JQtyFUXtlW
— Gordon Mulder (@PacPayroll) June 16, 2018
Some olivines that popped out of an a'a flow. Kilauea's little gems. #hawaii #kilauea #olivine #lovevolcanoes https://t.co/1X2ACcWu7n pic.twitter.com/8UaA1IrKEd
— GEOetc (@GEOetc2) June 10, 2018
Another scientist, Stanley Mertzman who is a volcanologist at Franklin and Marshall College told Mashable further:
“The olivine crystals folks are finding on the ground scattered about are from violently ejected basalt [a type of lava] blobs wherein the embedded, earlier-formed olivine crystals are freed from their surrounding pahoehoe [syrupy lava] basalt liquid.”
Off to Hawaii… It's raining gems
Hallelujah it's rainy gems, oh yeah🎵🎼— Mally D (@Savagefan64) June 15, 2018
It seems that the USGS Volcanoes Twitter account isn’t convinced with this being real yet. They replied to a IFL Science Tweet with:
@janinekrippner We have had no confirmation of this on the ground. Olivine in images from @ErinJordan_WX show rounded grains in what looks like gravel. This is not what the primary deposits look like from #Fissure8. @usatodayweather misrepresents quotes from USGS scientists.
— USGS Volcanoes🌋 (@USGSVolcanoes) June 14, 2018
Dr. John Faithfull, a petrologist at the University of Glasgow replied and said:
I did wonder about this. But have got eruption-clean crystals of olivine from 2011(need to check) eruption of Piton Caille in Reunion, so they can occur
— John Faithfull (@FaithfullJohn) June 15, 2018
Well, it looks like an all out war over whether these gems are actually raining from the sky or if they are just appearing out of no where. I’m not a scientist so don’t quote me on that. Either way, it’s pretty cool to cut out the middle man and buy a ticket to Hawaii and make your own jewelry!