Volcano Watch — Coming soon—Volcano Awareness Month and the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory's centennial celebration

In 2010, January was proclaimed "Volcano Awareness Month" by Hawai‘i County Mayor Billy Kenoi. For the past two years, HVO, in cooperation with Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park and the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, has held talks, hikes, and other informative programs to promote the importance of understanding the volcanoes on which we live. Similar events will be offered in 2012.

The New Year will be a special one for HVO, which will celebrate its centennial milestone—100 years of continuous volcano monitoring in Hawai‘i—with an Open House on Saturday, January 21, 2012. Hawai‘i residents and visitors are welcome to tour the observatory, which is not ordinarily open to the public, to see how volcanoes and earthquakes are monitored. HVO staff will also provide demonstrations and hands-on activities about Hawai‘i's volcanoes and their work.

A complete schedule, including dates, times, locations, and brief descriptions of the Volcano Awareness Month programs and Centennial Open House, is posted on HVO's website. For now, here's a synopsis of upcoming events:

HVO scientists will present weekly "After Dark in the Park" programs in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, beginning with an update on recent activity at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō on Kīlauea's east rift zone on January 3, the 29th anniversary of the ongoing eruption. The Tuesday evening programs on January 10, 17, 24, and 31, will include an update on Kīlauea's summit eruption in Halema‘uma‘u Crater, the story of HVO's first 100 years, the eruptive history and current status of Mauna Loa, and information about Kīlauea's gas emissions and vog (volcanic air pollution), respectively.

A series of Thursday evening talks at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo on January 5, 12, 19, and 25 will be presented by current and former HVO scientists. Their presentations will cover a variety of interesting topics: Kīlauea Volcano's explosive past; how HVO tracks fissure eruptions, lava flows, and other volcanic activity; the impact of lava flows on the Kalapana area over the past 35 years; and the history of large earthquakes in Hawai‘i and how HVO has monitored seismic activity during the past century.

In West Hawai‘i, a talk on January 11 at Kealakehe High School will provide an overview of what’s happening on all of Hawai‘i's active volcanoes. Another Kona talk, which will be held on February 8 at the Pu‘uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park amphitheater, will focus on Mauna Loa's eruptive history and current status.

HVO scientists will be featured speakers at Lyman Museum in Hilo over the next three months. The topics addressed in these talks include what HVO scientists have learned during the observatory's 100-year-long history (on December 19), tracking volcanic activity on Kīlauea and Mauna Loa (on January 23), and explosive eruptions at Kīlauea(on February 27).

Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park will also participate in Volcano Awareness Month through weekly ranger-guided hikes in the park throughout January. These hikes will take park visitors through Kīlauea Iki Crater (Sundays), to Mauna Ulu (Mondays), into Thurston Lava Tube (Wednesdays), around the Pu‘uloa petroglyph field (Thursdays), along Devastation Trail (Fridays), and down to the floor of Kīlauea's caldera (Saturdays). The non-profit Friends of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park group is offering a guided hike to Mauna Iki on January 29.

Island residents and visitors can enjoy volcano-inspired exhibits celebrating HVO's centennial at the Lyman Museum (December 9, 2011–March 31, 2012), at the East Hawai‘i Cultural Center in Hilo (January 6–28, 2012), and at the Volcano Art Center in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park (January 7–February 19, 2012).

As you can see, January 2012 promises to be a busy, but also fun and engaging, month for HVO staff, as well as for Hawai‘i Island residents and visitors wishing to learn more about Hawai‘i's volcanoes. We encourage you to check out the complete "Schedule of Events" posted on the HVO website—and hope to see you at one or more Volcano Awareness Month programs and at our Centennial Open House.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Volcano Activity Update

A lava lake present within the Halema‘uma‘u Overlook vent over the past week resulted in night-time glow that was visible from the Jaggar Museum overlook. The lake, which is about 75–100 m (245–330 ft) below the floor of Halema‘uma‘u Crater and visible by HVO's Webcam, rose and fell slightly during the week in response to deflation-inflation cycles.

On Kīlauea's east rift zone, surface lava flows advanced through the abandoned Royal Gardens subdivision this past week and reached the coastal plain late on December 4. The flows traveled through a lava tube fed by the September 21 fissure on the upper east flank of the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō cone. Small flows erupted within the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater also formed a lava pond on the eastern crater floor.

Three earthquakes beneath Hawai‘i Island were reported felt this past week. A magnitude-2.8 micro-earthquake at 4:05 p.m., HST, on Friday, December 2, 2011, was located 10 km (6 mi) west of Kalapana at a depth of 9 km (6 mi). A magnitude-3.0 earthquake at 9:50 p.m., HST, on Saturday, December 3, 2011, was located 3 km (2 mi) south of Kīlauea's summit at a depth of 3 km (2 mi). A magnitude-3.4 earthquake at 5:43 p.m., HST, on Tuesday, December 6, 2011, was located 5 km (3 mi) north of Ka‘ena Point at a depth of 6 km (4 mi).