January is Volcano Awareness Month. That might seem odd, given that Hawaii Island residents — especially those in the District of Puna — have been acutely aware of Kilauea Volcano for at least the past four months, during which an active lava flow crossed a road, burned a farm shed and unoccupied house, inundated a cemetery, damaged orchards and buried sections of private property. Today, the lava flow continues to threaten the community of Pahoa.
Indeed, since Hawaii is home to two of the world’s most active volcanoes — Kilauea and Mauna Loa — the need for volcano awareness should not be limited to a single month.
But in 2010, Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi proclaimed January as Volcano Awareness Month as a way to promote the importance of understanding the volcanoes on which we live. The U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory selected January as the “official” month, largely because Jan. 3 is the day that Kilauea’s East Rift Zone (Puu Oo) eruption began in 1983.
In addition to the 32nd anniversary of the ongoing East Rift Zone eruption, January 2015 marks the 55th anniversary of another notable Kilauea lava flow that impacted the lower Puna District. The eruption began on Jan. 13, 1960, and by the time it ended 36 days later, relentless lava flows had devastated Kapoho village and part of Koae village despite valiant efforts to divert the flows with bulldozed barriers. An account of this eruption is available at hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/history/1960Jan13.
The new year also marks the 60th and 65th anniversaries of two other significant eruptions in Hawaii: the February 1955 Kilauea East Rift Zone eruption, which was the first Kilauea eruption to impact an inhabited area (lower Puna) in more than 100 years, and the June 1950 Mauna Loa Southwest Rift Zone eruption, which sent three lava flows across the highway south of Hookena. The first of these Mauna Loa flows traveled from the vent to the ocean, a 15-mile journey, in less than three hours, destroying the village of Pahoehoe along the way.
These Kilauea and Mauna Loa eruptions are just a few reminders of why it’s important to better understand how Hawaiian volcanoes work. Accordingly, HVO, in cooperation with Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, the University of Hawaii at Hilo and Hawaii County Civil Defense, is offering a series of volcano awareness presentations during the month of January.
Weekly “After Dark in the Park” programs in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park will feature talks by HVO and UH-Hilo volcanologists on Jan. 6, 13, 20 and 27. Topics include an update on Kilauea Volcano’s ongoing eruptions, explosive versus effusive Kilauea eruptions, the relationship between earthquakes and Mauna Loa eruptions, and how pahoehoe lava flows work. Additional updates on Hawaii’s active volcanoes will be presented at UH-Hilo on Jan. 7, in Ocean View on Jan. 14 and in Kailua-Kona on Jan. 28.
Details about these Volcano Awareness Month presentations, including dates, times, locations,and synopses, are posted on HVO’s website at hvo.wr.usgs.gov. You can also email askHVO@usgs.gov or call 967-8844 for more information. The talks are free and open to the public. National park entrance fees may apply for the “After Dark in the Park” programs.
Awareness of Hawaiian volcanoes is possible throughout the year by visiting HVO’s website. Its Web pages provide daily eruption updates for Kilauea, including maps and photos of the lava flow’s advance toward Pahoa, as well as status reports for Mauna Loa and other active volcanoes in Hawaii. Daily Kilauea lava flow updates are also posted on the Hawaii County Civil Defense website at hawaiicounty.gov/active-alerts.
If you’re seeking a more technical awareness, “Characteristics of Hawaiian Volcanoes,” written by current and former HVO staff and collaborators to commemorate HVO’s 100th anniversary in 2012, is now available online at pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1801. This 10-chapter volume reviews HVO’s research history and presents our current understanding of Hawaiian volcanism, along with new data on eruption dynamics, hazards and more.
We encourage you to check out the 2015 Volcano Awareness Month schedule — and hope that you will join us in January. It’s a great time to learn more about Hawaiian volcanoes and to meet some of the HVO scientists who study and monitor them.
Until then, we wish everyone safe and happy holidays.
Kilauea activity update
The lava flow that began erupting from Puu Oo on June 27 remains active and is advancing across state land east of the Wao Kele O Puna Forest Reserve. HVO’s mapping on Thursday showed the tip of the flow to be about 0.6 mile upslope from Pahoa Marketplace. Scattered breakouts were active about 1.2 miles upslope from the leading edge of the flow, as well as near the abandoned geothermal well site and just downslope of Puu Oo. There was no significant change in activity at Puu Oo.
The level of the summit lava lake within Halemaumau Crater was relatively stable during the week, fluctuating between about 130 and 150 feet below the rim of the Overlook crater through Thursday.
Two earthquakes were reported felt on Hawaii Island during the past week. On Dec. 12 at 8:42 p.m., a magnitude-4.2 earthquake occurred 35.3 miles northwest of Kailua-Kona at a depth of 7.2 miles. On Monday at 2:57 p.m., a magnitude-2.9 earthquake occurred 7.4 miles north of Waimea at a depth of 15.1 miles.
Weekly “Volcano Watch” articles are written by scientists at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.
Visit the HVO website at hvo.wr.usgs.gov for past “Volcano Watch” articles and current Kilauea, Mauna Loa and Hualalai activity updates, lava flow maps, recent volcano photos, recent earthquakes and more; call 967-8862 for a Kilauea summary; email questions to askHVO@usgs.gov.