kapa kulture

The following is an excerpt from this week’s edition of the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory‘s Volcano Watch, with tips on viewing the Halema‘uma‘u eruption within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park provided by park rangers.  

The lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u Crater at the summit of Kīlauea on February 1, 2014. USGS Photo.

While Kīlauea Volcano’s East Rift Zone eruption at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō has been making headlines with the June 27^th lava flow and its hazards, Kīlauea’s summit eruption within Halema‘uma‘u Crater has steadily continued in the absence of much press. However, the lack of media attention does not reflect on the eruption’s remarkable nature.

Kīlauea’s ongoing summit eruption began on March 19, 2008, after several months of increasing seismic tremor and gas emissions. A small “throat clearing” explosion opened a new crater (informally called the Overlook crater, because it is located immediately below the former National Park visitor overlook) on…

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…