kapa kulture

ʻAʻā lava flows erupt from the Northeast Rift Zone of Mauna Loa on March 25, 1984—the first day of the volcano’s most recent eruption. (USGS photo.)

The following is this week’s edition of the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory‘s Volcano Watch:

Over the past few months, Mauna Loa, Hawaiʻi Island’s largest volcano, has shown subtle signs of stirring from its 31-year-long slumber (its most recent eruption began on March 25, 1984). The U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) has recorded numerous small earthquakes beneath Mauna Loa’s summit and western flank, and has detected slight expansion across Mokuʻāweoweo, the volcano’s summit caldera—signals that Mauna Loa should not be forgotten!

What can we expect as this great volcano reawakens and builds toward its next eruption?

Generally, as magma rises and eventually infiltrates and fills Mauna Loa’s summit magma reservoir, pressure builds within the volcano. When sufficient pressure is achieved, the volcano expands…

The following is this week’s edition of the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory‘s Volcano Watch:

With the recent downgrade of the Volcano Alert Level for Kīlauea’s June 27th lava flow that has been threatening the Pāhoa area, it’s interesting to take a look back at the 1880-1881 Mauna Loa lava flow and the threat that it posed to Hilo.

A sketch by Joseph Nāwahī showing the 1881 lava flow approaching Hilo. (Courtesy of National Park Service, Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, HAVO 394, Volcano House Guest Register 1873 to 1885, illustration by Joseph Nāwahī, February 21, 1881.)

On the evening of November 5, 1880, people in Hilo and at the Volcano House hotel at the summit of Kīlauea noticed a glow on Mauna Loa—produced by an eruption located northeast of the volcano’s summit. A vent at about the 3,200 m (10,500 ft) elevation produced one lava flow that moved to the southeast…

(The following article courtesy National Weather Service Honolulu Office Website )

Hawaii’s Ocean Awareness Week: October 21st – 25th, 2013

Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie’s Proclamation for Ocean Awareness Week

Weather and surf are distinguished by two distinct seasons in Hawaii. The surf seasons generally follow the seasonal changes in the weather pattern across the North-Central Pacific Ocean. The dry season in Hawaii runs from May through September, while the wet season runs from October through April.

During the dry season, long period south swells are most common. These swells are generated by storm systems churning away in the southern hemisphere to the east of Australia and New Zealand. Two distinct zones of storm generation are favorable for south swell development. The most favorable location is in the area just east of New Zealand, while a second less consistent area is located between Australia and New Zealand. The south swells travel nearly…

What’s going on with Kīlauea, you ask? Kīlauea continues to erupt from 2 locations. Within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, at Halema‘uma‘u, the lava lake is about 150 feet deep within the crater (give or take) and the best viewing of this eruption is from the Jaggar Museum observation deck, open 24 hours a day. Go after dark or before dawn for the best eruption viewing, and the most amazing “glow show” in the park!

Out in Kīlauea’s East Rift Zone, Pu’u ‘Ō’ō continues to erupt, but there are currently no flows entering the ocean or pooling up on the coastal plain. According to the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, active breakouts in the Kahauale’a 2 area are scattered over a broad area within the state’s Natural Area Reserve, extremely hazardous and closed to the public. In this aerial photo of the Kahauale’a 2 eruption, a breakout near the edge of…