Hawaii Volcanoes National Park will host a series of talks about Kilauea and Mauna volcanoes this month.
The series, which is part of HVNP’s “After Dark in the Park” program, comes amid Volcano Awareness Month. Each of the talks, which are free and open to the public, start at 7 p.m. at the Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium within the national park. Park entrance fees may apply.
On Tuesday, Tina Neal, Scientist-in-Charge of the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, will offer a talk called “Kilauea Volcano’s East Rift and summit eruption: Events of the past year.
Kilauea has been erupting nearly continuously since 1983, when a vent, now called Puu Oo, opened on the volcano’s East Rift Zone. Then, in 2008, a second vent opened at the summit of Kilauea within Halemaumau Crater. Both eruptions continue today.
Neal will briefly describes the history of these two eruptions and provide in-depth accounts of volcanic activity during the past year, including the ongoing East Rift Zone lava flow that threatened the community of Pahoa until March 2015 and the overflow of the summit lava lake in April-May 2015.
On Jan. 12, HVO scientist Asta Miklius will lead a talk titled “Mauna Loa: Eruptive history and current status of Earth’s largest active volcano.”
When Mauna Loa erupts, voluminous, fast-moving lava flows can reach the ocean in only a few hours, severing roads and utilities and repaving the volcano’s flanks along the way. Since 1843, Mauna Loa has erupted 33 times, most recently in 1984, when lava flows reached within 4 miles of Hilo. In September, HVO raised the Volcano Alert Level of Mauna Loa from “normal” to “advisory” due to increased seismicity and deformation.
The next week, on Jan. 19, Don Swanson, research geologist at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, will discuss Kilauea’s past lethal eruptions, why they were deadly, and what we can expect in the future during a talk titled, “Lethal eruptions at Kilauea: They aren’t the volcano’s fault.”
Kilauea’s volcanic activity produces both lava flows and explosive eruptions. Both types of activity occur about equally as often, and have killed people and destroyed property.
On Jan. 26, join USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientist Jim Kauahikaua and HVO volunteer Ben Gaddis for a presentation titled, “Mauna Loa 1880-81 eruption: The lava flow that came to Hilo.”
Within the last 160 years, five eruptions sent lava flows to within 10 miles of Hilo Bay. The 1880-81 Mauna Loa eruption came the closest.
During the eruption, Princess Regent Liliuokalani and Princess Ruth Keelikolani led the efforts to save Hilo town. As residents offered both Christian prayers and appeals to Pele, preparations were also made to dig ditches, construct rock barriers, and blast dynamite to divert the lava streams. After more than nine months, the lava flow stopped, but less than a mile from the bay front.
Kauahikaua and Gaddis will present the story of this Mauna Loa eruption using maps, art, and photographs of the lava flow that came to Hilo.
Info: 985-6011 or 967-8844 ■