Volcano Watch

Four of us HVO lava junkies had the rare opportunity to witness a partial bench collapse on Monday evening, June 8. The collapse began at 7:40 p.m...

Billowing clouds of steam rising from two discrete locations along the Kamokuna-Waha`ula coastline are often the only reminders we have of Kīlauea...

The gravitational attraction of the Sun and the Moon produce the familiar ocean tides and the less familiar earth tides. Why are volcanologists...

Precisely 74 years ago today, the final chapter of one of Kīlauea's most alarming displays of volcanic power came to a close. Halema`uma`u, the fire...

The story is told of how Maui snared the sun, holding it hostage atop Haleakalā until he slowed its passage across the sky. One result of this slow...

The announcement last week that astronomers at Keck Observatory had looked back 12.3 billion years in time was astounding. When you think about it...

As April draws to a close, so ends Tsunami Awareness Month in the State of Hawai`i. Tsunami Awareness Month featured programs and events coordinated...

The eruption of 1942 was noteworthy for several reasons. (1) It was declared a secret so the press was not allowed to publicize the event. (2) This...

Govenor Ben Cayetano's proclamation of April as "Tsunami Awareness Month" in Hawai`i is a timely one, for a generation of residents has grown up...

In some regards, monitoring an active volcano is easy; the constant bustle keeps a watcher on his or her toes. But what if a volcano hasn't erupted in...

As we all know, there are no facts about the future. We cannot know for sure what will happen tomorrow, much less next year or 1,000 years from now...

While watching the Olympics a few weeks ago, I started wondering how our lava flows would place in typical competitions. Of course, it wouldn't be...

Sharing the results of scientific investigations on Hawai`i's volcanoes has always been a primary goal of scientists working at the Hawaiian Volcano...

Two geologists who used to work at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory were back in the state last week viewing Hawai`i's volcanoes from a different...

In recent months we have discussed hazards from lava flows in the Hilo and Puna areas. Today we focus on the Ka`u District.
 

Someone once said, "Climate is what you expect, weather is what you get." The weather of the last week or so has brought a sigh of relief to many east...

A gentle, effusive style of activity has characterized the ongoing eruption of Kīlauea for well over a decade now. But remember the explosive episodes...

Japan—only 63 million years away! Advertising like that would put a shipping company out of business, but the Plate Tectonic Express has no...

Scientific concepts are often thought to result from thinking about hard facts. Speculation is sometimes considered out of bounds for scientists.

Hawaiian volcanoes provide scientists a natural laboratory to study events that precede an eruption. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, in cooperation...