Hawai'i Volcano Blog

Words matter among volcanologists themselves, of course, but they particularly matter in our dealings with the public, when we attempt to both tell what is happening and educate about how volcanoes work.

New eruptions at Kīlauea provide a glimpse into what is happening inside the volcano and its magma reservoirs.

Volcanic gases are an important part of eruptions—they help magma to rise within the earth and erupt, they can tell us how much lava is being erupted, and the volcanic air pollution (vog) they cause can be a hazard.

Lava activity is confined to Halemaʻumaʻu with lava erupting from vents on the northwest side of the crater.

At approximately 3 a.m. HST on Dec. 26, activity at the west vent increased dramatically as the fountaining at the north vent died out.

The 2018 lower East Rift Zone eruption and summit caldera collapse marked the end of the 35-year-long Puʻu ʻŌʻō and 10-year-long summit lava lake eruptions, and the beginning of a new chapter in Kīlauea Volcano activity.

Residents should be aware of Hawaiʻi’s active volcanoes.

The entrance fee waiver for the fee-free days does not cover camping or backcountry overnight permit fees.

In total, 31 projects are identified, which come with their own action steps and an implementation structure that fosters collaboration.

Tephra is the Greek word for ash, and it is the label we use for rocks that come flying out of the volcano during an eruption.

The 2018 eruption of Kīlauea was triggered by a decade-long build-up of pressure in the upper parts of the volcano.

Although the TEB flow was much less destructive than the 2018 LERZ eruption, it nevertheless threatened homes in lower Puna for months.

In cartography and geographic analyses related to volcanoes, especially in Hawai‘i, there is perhaps nothing more important than having an accurate digital model of topography.

Some regions monitored by the volcano observatories had geologically ‘young’ eruptions that are nonetheless old enough to lack written documentation, eyewitnesses, or first-hand accounts.

The water surface is a mosaic in constant motion, a scene that changes by the minute and hour. 

Between seismic swarms leading to sleepless nights, and sulfur smells leading to wrinkled noses, it has been a somewhat interesting week for Hawai‘i Island residents.

One of the fundamental premises of geology is that the “key to understanding the future is to understand the past.”

The Koa‘e fault system connects Kīlauea’s East and Southwest Rift Zones south of the caldera.

Major earthquakes cannot be predicted.

By 1930, Hawai‘i had earthquake report cards that were distributed to the community by HVO staff for people to write detailed information about what they observed during earthquakes.