Don Swanson
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Science and Products
Groundwater dynamics at Kīlauea Volcano and vicinity, Hawaiʻi
Kīlauea Volcano, on the Island of Hawaiʻi, is surrounded and permeated by active groundwater systems that interact dynamically with the volcanic system. A generalized conceptual model of Hawaiian hydrogeology includes high-level dike-impounded groundwater, very permeable perched and basal aquifers, and a transition (mixing) zone between freshwater...
Patrick, Matthew R.; Orr, Tim R.; Swanson, Don; Houghton, Bruce F.; Hurwitz, Shaul; Peek, Sara E.; Scholl, Martha A.; Bergfeld, Deborah; Evans, William C.; Kauahikaua, James P.; Gingerich, Stephen B.; Hsieh, Paul A.; Lee, R. Lopaka; Younger, Edward F.; Ingebritsen, Steven E.
The 2008–2018 summit lava lake at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i
The 2008–2018 lava lake at the summit of Kīlauea marked the longest sustained period of lava lake activity at the summit in decades and provided a new opportunity for observing and understanding lava lake behavior. The individual chapters of this Professional Paper volume cover the basic chronology of the eruption, rich historical background,...
Patrick, Matthew R.; Orr, Tim R.; Swanson, Don; Houghton, Bruce F.
Views of a century of activity at Kīlauea Caldera—A visual essay
The 2018 eruption of Kīlauea Volcano marked the end of the first sustained period of volcanic activity at Halemaʻumaʻu Crater in 94 years. The views of the lava lake (informally named “Overlook,” nestled within Halemaʻumaʻu) lasted for a decade and seemed timeless. But as we were recently reminded, the summit of Kīlauea is part of a dynamic system...
Patrick, Matthew R.; Orr, Tim R.; Swanson, Don; Houghton, Bruce F.; Gaddis, Ben; Kauahikaua, James P. Kīlauea’s 2008–2018 summit lava lake—Chronology and eruption insights
The first eruption at Kīlauea’s summit in 25 years began on March 19, 2008, and persisted for 10 years. The onset of the eruption marked the first explosive activity at the summit since 1924, forming the new “Overlook crater” (as the 2008 summit eruption crater has been informally named) within the existing crater of Halemaʻumaʻu. The first year...
Patrick, Matthew R.; Orr, Tim R.; Swanson, Don; Houghton, Bruce F.; Patrick, Matthew R.; Orr, Tim R.; Swanson, Don; Houghton, Bruce F.; Wooten, Kelly M.; Desmither, Liliana; Parcheta, Carolyn; Fee, David
From lava to water: A new era at Kīlauea
No abstract available.
Nadeau, Patricia; Diefenbach, Angela K.; Hurwitz, Shaul; Swanson, Donald A, Total grain size distribution of an intense Hawaiian fountaining event: Case study of the1959 Kīlauea Iki eruption
The 1959 eruption of Kīlauea Iki on the Island of Hawai’i is a principal example of powerful Hawaiian fountaining. Over 36 days (including repose periods), 16 fountaining episodes created a small cone, a downwind tephra blanket of approximately 0.003 km3 and a lava lake of about 0.04 km3 volume. During the explosive...
Mueller, Sebastian B; Houghton, Bruce F.; Swanson, Donald A,; Poret, Matthieu; Fagents, Sarah A. The Kulanaokuaiki-3 tephra, 900 CE: Products of a remarkably energetic pyroclastic eruption at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaiʻi, USA
Eruptions of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaiʻi, USA, can be more powerful than previously recognized. The Kulanaokuaiki-3 (K-3) eruption, ca. 900 CE, consisted of two episodes that dispersed lithic wall-rock clasts (Episode 1) and dominantly scoria (Episode 2; VEI-3) across >65 km2 southeast of the summit. Dense 12 cm blocks of Episode 1 fell 8–10...
Fiske, Richard A.; Rose, Timothy R.; Swanson, Donald A,; Andrews, Benjamin J.; Nichols, Alexamder R. L. Products, processes, and implications of Keanakāko‘i volcanism, Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i
The Keanakāko‘i Tephra offers an exceptional window into the explosive portion of Kīlauea’s recent past. Once thought to be the products of a single eruption, the deposits instead formed through a wide range of pyroclastic activity during an ~300 yr period following the collapse of the modern caldera in ca. 1500 CE. No single shallow conduit or...
Swanson, Don; Houghton, Bruce F. Dikes in the Koaʻe fault system, and the Koaʻe-east rift zone structural grain at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaii
Two small scoria vents were discovered in the Koa‘e fault system, an extensional regime connecting the east and southwest rift zones of Kīlauea that was previously considered to be noneruptive. The chemical composition of the scoria suggests an early to middle nineteenth-century age. The vents prove that magma can intrude several kilometers into...
Swanson, Donald A,; Fiske, Richard S.; Thornber, Carl; Poland, Michael P. Controls on lava lake level at Halema‘uma‘u Crater, Kīlauea Volcano
The height of the lava column is a fundamental measure of open-vent volcanic activity, but little continuous long-term data exist to understand this parameter. The recent (2008-2018) lava lake activity at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano provides a unique opportunity to track and understand the processes that control lava level over timescales...
Patrick, Matthew R.; Swanson, Donald A,; Orr, Tim R. The 2018 rift eruption and summit collapse of Kilauea Volcano
In 2018, Kīlauea Volcano experienced its largest lower East Rift Zone (LERZ) eruption and caldera collapse in at least 200 years. After collapse of the Pu'u 'Ō'ō vent on 30 April, magma propagated downrift. Eruptive fissures opened in the LERZ on 3 May, eventually extending ~6.8 km. A 4 May earthquake (M6.9) produced ~5 m of fault slip. Lava...
Neal, Christina A.; Brantley, Steven; Antolik, Loren; Babb, Janet; Burgess, Matthew K.; Cappos, Michael; Chang, Jefferson; Conway, Sarah; Desmither, Liliana; Dotray, Peter; Elias, Tamar; Fukunaga, Pauline; Fuke, Steven; Johanson, Ingrid; Kamibayashi, Kevan; Kauahikaua, James P.; Lee, R. Lopaka; Pekalib, S.; Miklius, Asta; Shiro, Brian; Swanson, Don; Nadeau, Patricia; Zoeller, Michael H.; Okubo, P.; Parcheta, Carolyn; Patrick, Matthew R.; Tollett, William; Trusdell, Frank A.; Younger, Edward F.; Montgomery-Brown, Emily; Anderson, Kyle R.; Poland, Michael P.; Ball, Jessica L.; Bard, Joseph A.; Coombs, Michelle L.; Dietterich, Hannah R.; Kern, Christoph; Thelen, Weston; Cervelli, Peter; Orr, Tim R.; Houghton, Bruce F.; Gansecki, Cheryl; Hazlett, Richard; Lundgren, Paul; Diefenbach, Angela K.; Lerner, Allan; Waite, Greg; Kelly, Peter J.; Clor, Laura E.; Werner, Cynthia; Burgess, Matthew; Mulliken, Katherine; Fisher, Gary Eruptions in sync: Improved constraints on Kīlauea Volcano’s hydraulic connection
Kīlauea Volcano is an archetype for the complex interactions that can occur between a volcano’s summit and flanks. Decades of monitoring at Kīlauea have demonstrated that magma rises beneath the summit and flows laterally at shallow depths to erupt along the rift zones. Kīlauea’s recent eruptions at Halema‘uma‘u and Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō mark the first time...
Patrick, Matthew R.; Orr, Tim R.; Anderson, Kyle R.; Swanson, Don
Volcano Watch — What does water in Halema‘uma‘u mean?
The slowly deepening pond of water on the floor of Halema‘uma‘u, the first in recorded history, has captured the interest of media and the public, both locally and nationally. Many questions are being asked. The two most frequent are, where is the water coming from and what is its importance?
Volcano Watch — Water or no water: that is (or was) the question
USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) scientists usually base their research on observations, either visual or instrumental. Interpretations come from these observations, so they must be as good as possible. Incorrect observations can, and have, led to erroneous interpretations.
Volcano Watch - New outcrops make good geology
A good field geologist is an opportunist. Never content with what outcrops are available, she jumps at the chance to see another one, hoping that it will provide a better understanding to some question about what happened in the past.
Volcano Watch — Now is an exciting time at Kīlauea
This is, without a doubt, the most intellectually exciting time to be a volcanologist at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. The current inactivity at Kīlauea has so many possible outcomes that it is a real challenge to figure out what might happen next. And intellectual challenges are stimulating and exciting.
Volcano Watch — Will this summer's limited collapse of Kīlauea caldera eventually widen?
The limited collapse of the inner part of Kīlauea Volcano's caldera this summer fell well short of the larger summit-wide collapses that occurred in the past. How many such limited collapses can we recognize at Kīlauea before written records were kept? The answer is none.
Volcano Watch — Progress can be slow but adds up
Where do we stand today with big-picture knowledge of Kīlauea and Mauna Loa acquired in the past few decades?
Volcano Watch — When you need information about Hawaiian volcanoes, turn to the USGS
For information about Hawaiian volcanoes, a good place to start is the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Between its websites and publications, abundant resources are at your disposal.
Volcano Watch — A geologist remembers the Mount St. Helens eruption 37 years ago
This week's Volcano Watch was written by USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist Don Swanson, who worked on Mount St. Helens before and after the 1980 eruption.
Volcano Watch — Pulsing magma supply detected at Kīlauea
This is the story of how a new concept—slowly pulsing magma supply to Kīlauea—emerged from observations of the Overlook lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u.
Volcano Watch — An assumption about Kīlauea Volcano is proven wrong
Everyone extrapolates facts and makes assumptions based on those facts. Sometimes, such an assumption is repeated so often that it takes on the aura of a "fact" itself. This is the story of how one such assumption about Kīlauea's recent past was proven wrong—and only in the past couple of months!
Volcano Watch — Amber waves of … Pele's hair?
The lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u Crater at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano is creating a scene remindful of a messy barbershop floor, except that it's acres and acres wide rather than a few square feet. The ground downwind of the crater is strewn with Pele's hair, and it is almost impossible to avoid stepping on it.
Volcano Watch — August 6 explosive event at Kīlauea Volcano's summit just one among many
The explosive event at Halema‘uma‘u Crater's lava lake on August 6, 2016, was the latest in a series that began in 2008. It is useful to view the event in the context of the entire series and to consider if another is likely.