Jim Kauahikaua
Science and Products
Tradition and science chronicle Pele's unyielding power
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Kauahikaua, James P.
The lava flow that came to Hilo—The 1880–81 eruption of Mauna Loa volcano, Island of Hawai‘i
The Mauna Loa eruption sequence of 1880–81 consists of two eruptions. The May 1880 eruption in Mokuʻāweoweo at the summit of Mauna Loa lasted just a few days and was followed 6 months later by three lava flows that issued from vents along the Northeast Rift Zone. The November 1880 eruption lasted almost a year and one of its flows nearly reached...
Kauahikaua, James P.; Gaddis, Ben; Kanahele, Ku`ulei; Hon, Ken; Wasser, Valerie 3D electrical conductivity imaging of Halema‘uma‘u lava lake (Kīlauea volcano)
Before the 2018 collapse of the summit of Kīlauea volcano, a ca. 200 m in diameter lava lake inside of Halema‘uma‘u crater was embedded in a very active hydrothermal system. In 2015, we carried out an electrical conductivity survey and the data were inverted in 3D. The lack of conductivity contrast precludes distinguishing the lava column from the...
Gailler, Lydie; Kauahikaua, James P.; Lénat, Jean-François; Revil, André; Gresse, Marceau; Ahmed, Abdellahi Soueid; Cluzel, Nicolas; Manthilake, Geeth; Gurioli, Lucia; Johnson, Tim B.; Finizola, Anthony; Delcher, Eric 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; 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 (Frank); 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 Gravity signature of basaltic fill in Kīlauea caldera, Island of Hawai‘i
Characterization of the subsurface structure of a volcanic edifice is essential to understanding volcanic behavior. One of the best-studied volcanoes is Kīlauea (Island of Hawai‘i). Geological evidence suggests that the formation of the summit caldera of Kīlauea is cyclic, with repeated collapse followed by filling with lava. The most recent...
Gailler, Lydie; Kauahikaua, James P.
Volcano art at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park—A science perspective
Long before landscape photography became common, artists sketched and painted scenes of faraway places for the masses. Throughout the 19th century, scientific expeditions to Hawaiʻi routinely employed artists to depict images for the people back home who had funded the exploration and for those with an interest in the newly discovered lands. In...
Gaddis, Ben; Kauahikaua, James P. Monitoring the cooling of the 1959 Kīlauea Iki lava lake using surface magnetic measurements
Lava lakes can be considered as proxies for small magma chambers, offering a unique opportunity to investigate magma evolution and solidification. Repeated magnetic ground surveys over more than 50 years each show a large vertical magnetic intensity anomaly associated with Kīlauea Iki Crater, partly filled with a lava lake during the 1959...
Gailler, Lydie; Kauahikaua, James P.
Conversing with Pelehonuamea: A workshop combining 1,000+ years of traditional Hawaiian knowledge with 200 years of scientific thought on Kīlauea volcanism
The events surrounding volcanic eruptions and damaging earthquakes in Hawai‘i have often been described in journals, letters, and newspapers articles in the English language; however, the Hawaiian nation was among the most literate of countries in the 19th century, and many Hawaiian-language newspapers were in circulation through all but the...
Kauahikaua, James P.; Babb, Janet L.; Kauahikaua, James P.; Babb, Janet L. Operational thermal remote sensing and lava flow monitoring at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
Hawaiian volcanoes are highly accessible and well monitored by ground instruments. Nevertheless, observational gaps remain and thermal satellite imagery has proven useful in Hawai‘i for providing synoptic views of activity during intervals between field visits. Here we describe the beginning of a thermal remote sensing programme at the US...
Patrick, Matthew R.; Kauahikaua, James P.; Orr, Tim R.; Davies, Ashley G.; Ramsey, Michael S.
The 2014 annual report for the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
Introduction This report summarizes team activities and findings of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory during the year 2014 in geology, geodesy, seismicity, and gas geochemistry. The eruption of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō continued into its 32nd year with flows active to the northeast of the vent. One of them, the June 27th lava flow, named for the...
Kauahikaua, Jim; Kauahikaua, James P.; Orr, Tim R.; Patrick, Matt; Thelen, Weston A.; Burgess, Matthew K.; Miklius, Asta; Poland, Michael P.; Anderson, Kyle R.; Antolik, Loren; Elias, Tamar; Sutton, Jeff; Kern, Christoph; Werner, Cindy The 2014-2015 Pāhoa lava flow crisis at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i: Disaster avoided and lessons learned
Lava flow crises are nothing new on the Island of Hawai‘i, where their destructive force has been demonstrated repeatedly over the past several hundred years. The 2014–2015 Pāhoa lava flow crisis, however, was unique in terms of its societal impact and volcanological characteristics. Despite low effusion rates, a long-lived lava flow...
Poland, Michael P.; Orr, Tim R.; Kauahikaua, James P.; Brantley, Steven R.; Babb, Janet L.; Patrick, Matthew R.; Neal, Christina; Anderson, Kyle R.; Antolik, Loren; Burgess, Matthew K.; Elias, Tamar; Fuke, Steven; Fukunaga, Pauline; Johanson, Ingrid; Kagimoto, Marian; Kamibayashi, Kevan P.; Lee, Lopaka; Miklius, Asta; Million, William; Moniz, Cyril J.; Okubo, Paul G.; Sutton, Andrew; Takahashi, T. Jane; Thelen, Weston A.; Tollett, Willam; Trusdell, Frank A.
Satellite monitoring of dramatic changes at Hawai'i's only alpine lake: Lake Waiau on Mauna Kea volcano
Lake Waiau is a small, typically 100-meter-long lake, located near the summit of Mauna Kea volcano, on the Island of Hawaiʻi. It is Hawaiʻi’s only alpine lake and is considered sacred in Hawaiian cultural tradition. Over the past few years, the lake has diminished in size, and, by October 2013, surface water had almost completely disappeared...
Patrick, Matthew R.; Kauahikaua, James P.
Volcano Watch - Mauna Loa Volcano's 1935 lava flow seen in current media coverage of Mauna Kea
Volcano Watch - USGS to survey Kīlauea Volcano from its summit to Kumukahi
Since the end of 2018's volcanic activity, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists have wanted to resurvey Kīlauea Volcano's ground surface to document changes brought about by the Puna eruption and summit collapse. Doing so would allow us to more accurately answer questions about the total volumes of erupted lava and summit subsidence that occurred last summer.
Volcano Watch - What caused—or did not cause—the 2018 Kīlauea eruption?
When a major geologic event occurs, scientists who study such events and the people who are directly or indirectly impacted by it seek to understand its cause. Often, a first step toward that understanding is to rule out what did not cause the event.
Volcano Watch - How is lava flow thickness measured and why does it matter?
Eruption rate (how much lava comes out of the ground per unit time) is probably the best measure of volcanic activity, and the first step in that calculation is to measure lava flow thickness and area.
Volcano Watch - A summit collapse 150 years ago had similarities to the 2018 collapse
The prolonged yet dramatic partial collapse of Kīlauea caldera this past summer was the first to be observed in detail and the largest measured by subsidence volume of more than a dozen summit collapses in the past 200 years. The earliest known collapses (1823, 1832, and 1840) were large in subsidence volume but the process was not recorded by witnesses.
Volcano Watch - How long will Kīlauea Volcano's lower East Rift Zone eruption continue?
"How long will it last?" is one of the most challenging questions asked about a volcanic eruption, including Kīlauea Volcano's current lower East Rift Zone (LERZ) eruption.
Volcano Watch - Disaster strikes Ka‘ū in 1868: The rest of the story
Already reeling from a destructive earthquake and deadly tsunami and mud flow on April 2, 1868, Ka‘ū residents on the Island of Hawai‘i hoped for a reprieve, but it was slow to come.
Volcano Watch - Did aerial bombing stop the 1935 Mauna Loa lava flow?
A widely-held belief is that Thomas Jaggar, founder of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, was able to stop a Mauna Loa lava flow in 1935. But is it true?
Volcano Watch - The Mystery Haze of 1950: vog by another name would look as clear
On June 13, 1950, Honolulu was suddenly blanketed by the thickest haze seen since recordkeeping began there in 1906.
Volcano Watch - 19th century virtual reality brings Hawaiian volcano to life
In 1888, Tavernier went one step further and created what we would now call a virtual reality depiction of Kīlauea volcano—the "Panorama of Kīlauea," an 11-foot tall canvas arranged in a circle with a 90-foot circumference.
Volcano Watch - Where (and how) you gonna go when the volcano flows?
Island of Hawai‘i residents, especially those living in South Kona and Ka‘ū Districts, which are at particular risk from Mauna Loa's Southwest Rift Zone, might wonder where they're gonna go when the volcano erupts—even if it flows, rather than "blows." But, more than knowing where to go, a greater challenge might be how to get there.
Volcano Watch - Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist receives two prestigious awards
USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist Don Swanson was recently named as the recipient of two prestigious awards.