Regional Hazards Research

I ka nānā no a ‘ike. (By observing, one learns) ‘Ōlelo No‘eau: Hawaiian Proverbs and Poetical Sayings by Mary Kawena Pukui

Eruptive activity has not resumed at the summit of Kīlauea; the volcano alert level and aviation color code remains at YELLOW/ADVISORY.

On December 7th Mauna Loa's Northeast Rift Zone was still erupting but has since stopped. Check out photo's of the eruption here. There is a visible gas plume from the erupting fissure fountains and lava flows.

At 10:45 p.m. Sunday evening, November 27, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) scientists were alerted to an earthquake swarm beneath Mauna Loa. Before an hour had gone by, lava had broken the surface within Moku‘āweoweo, the summit caldera, for the first time in 38 years.

Lava flows erupted from the lower East Rift Zone (LERZ) of Kīlauea in 2018 and devastated lower Puna. In 2019, a team of scientists from the USGS, the Earth Observatory of Singapore, and GNS Science in New Zealand set out to document and assess the impacts to buildings and infrastructure to advance understanding of how lava flows impact the built environment.

Volcanic activity in American Samoa is within the area of responsibility of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, based in Hilo on the Island of Hawai‘i. Tutuila, Ofu-Olosega and Ta‘ū are potentially active volcanoes within the United States Territory of American Samoa. All are considered low threat.

East Maui volcano, known as Haleakalā, has witnessed at least ten eruptions in the past 1,000 years, and numerous eruptions have occurred there in the past 10,000 years.

Kama‘ehuakanaloa - formerly Lō‘ihi Seamount - is an active volcano built on the seafloor south of Kīlauea about 30 kilometers - 19 miles - from shore.

Tall cinder cones atop the summit of Mauna Kea and lava flows that underlie its steep upper flanks have built the volcano a scant 35 meters - 115 feet - higher than nearby Mauna Loa.

Hualālai is the third youngest and third-most historically active volcano on the Island of Hawai‘i.

We are studying post-fire forest regeneration in montane habitats within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. By testing out different restoration strategies, as well as links between grass cover and fire, we hope to increase restored forest fire resistance and resilience.

Kīlauea is the youngest and southeastern most volcano on the Island of Hawai‘i.