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Volcano Watch — Youngest lava flows on East Maui probably older than A.D. 1790

Volcano Watch — Youngest lava flows on East Maui probably older than A.D. 1790

In our efforts to refine the geologic map of Haleakalā, we recently obtained radiocarbon ages from the youngest lava flows, those at La Perouse Bay...

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Volcano Watch — Hokule`a tours hotspots

Volcano Watch — Hokule`a tours hotspots

The Hokule`a set sail from Hilo in June on an eight-month round-trip voyage to Rapa Nui (Easter Island). The crew of this double-hulled sailing canoe...

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Volcano Watch — Why was the recent earthquake in Turkey so destructive?

Volcano Watch — Why was the recent earthquake in Turkey so destructive?

The August 17, 1999, magnitude 7.4 earthquake in Turkey leveled thousands of buildings and resulted in over 10,000 deaths. This was the largest...

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Volcano Watch — Riding shotgun for a submarine

Volcano Watch — Riding shotgun for a submarine

In the wild west of the 19th century, stagecoaches often had someone aboard whose job was to warn and protect the driver from marauding gangs and wild...

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Volcano Watch — Beware Kīlauea's new land—not exactly terra firma?

Volcano Watch — Beware Kīlauea's new land—not exactly terra firma?

Kīlauea Volcano has been erupting nearly continuously for the past 6,068 days since activity started on January 3, 1983. Lava first entered the ocean...

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Volcano Watch — Explosions from Kīlauea in the 16th to 18th centuries

Volcano Watch — Explosions from Kīlauea in the 16th to 18th centuries

How long do explosive periods last at Kīlauea? Early researchers concluded that the Keanakako`i Ash—the rocky deposits on the ground surface around...

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Volcano Watch — Here today, gone to Maui

Volcano Watch — Here today, gone to Maui

All of sudden, there's an earthquake...or was it an earthquake? Where was it? How big was it? Does it signal the start of an eruption or magma shiftin...

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Volcano Watch — Unusual events of March-April 1868

Volcano Watch — Unusual events of March-April 1868

On Friday, March 27, 1868, at 5:30 a.m., several whaling ships anchored in Kawaihae Harbor noticed a dense column of fume reflected by a bright light...

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Volcano Watch — Small mammal predators invade Hawai‘i

Volcano Watch — Small mammal predators invade Hawai‘i

The islands of the Pacific are some of the most isolated in the world and have produced distinct floras and faunas. Endemism, whereby plants and...

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Volcano Watch — Coastal steam plume likely but not constant sight

Volcano Watch — Coastal steam plume likely but not constant sight

Visitors to the Big Island's southeast coast commonly see a steam plume, the telltale sign that Kīlauea's eruption is sending lava into the ocean.

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Volcano Watch — What is a volcano—Shape is unimportant and even misleading basis for defining a volcano

Volcano Watch — What is a volcano—Shape is unimportant and even misleading basis for defining a volcano

Many readers know that the island of Hawai`i is made of five volcanoes—Kīlauea, Mauna Loa, Hualālai, Mauna Kea, and Kohala. 

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Volcano Watch — Hawaiian students help to study Kīlauea

Volcano Watch — Hawaiian students help to study Kīlauea

Each summer, staff members of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory have participated in student training programs with the University of Hawaii at Hilo...

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