Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Publications

Filter Total Items: 2698

The 2010 slow slip event and secular motion at Kilauea, Hawai`i inferred from TerraSAR-X InSAR data

We present here an Small BAseline Subset (SBAS) algorithm to extract both transient and secular ground deformations on the order of millimeters in the presence of tropospheric noise on the order of centimeters, when the transient is of short duration and known time, and the background deformation is smooth in time. We applied this algorithm to study the 2010 slow slip event as well as the secular
Authors
Jingyi Chen, Howard A. Zebker, Paul Segall, Asta Miklius

Magma supply, storage, and transport at shield-stage Hawaiian volcanoes

The characteristics of magma supply, storage, and transport are among the most critical parameters governing volcanic activity, yet they remain largely unconstrained because all three processes are hidden beneath the surface. Hawaiian volcanoes, particularly Kīlauea and Mauna Loa, offer excellent prospects for studying subsurface magmatic processes, owing to their accessibility and frequent erupti
Authors
Michael P. Poland, Asta Miklius, Emily K. Montgomery-Brown

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory: A natural laboratory for studying basaltic volcanism

In the beginning of the 20th century, geologist Thomas A. Jaggar, Jr., argued that, to fully understand volcanic and associated hazards, the expeditionary mode of studying eruptions only after they occurred was inadequate. Instead, he fervently advocated the use of permanent observatories to record and measure volcanic phenomena—at and below the surface—before, during, and after eruptions to obtai
Authors
Robert I. Tilling, James P. Kauahikaua, Steven R. Brantley, Christina A. Neal

One hundred volatile years of volcanic gas studies at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory

The first volcanic gas studies in Hawai‘i, beginning in 1912, established that volatile emissions from Kīlauea Volcano contained mostly water vapor, in addition to carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide. This straightforward discovery overturned a popular volatile theory of the day and, in the same action, helped affirm Thomas A. Jaggar, Jr.’s, vision of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) as a pree
Authors
A.J. Sutton, Tamar Elias

Natural hazards and risk reduction in Hawaii

Significant progress has been made over the past century in understanding, characterizing, and communicating the societal risks posed by volcanic, earthquake, and tsunami hazards in Hawai‘i. The work of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO), with a century-long commitment to serving the public with credible hazards information, contributed substantially to this global progress. Thomas A. Jaggar,
Authors
James P. Kauahikaua, Robert I. Tilling

The evolution of seismic monitoring systems at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory

In the century since the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) put its first seismographs into operation at the edge of Kīlauea Volcano’s summit caldera, seismic monitoring at HVO (now administered by the U.S. Geological Survey [USGS]) has evolved considerably. The HVO seismic network extends across the entire Island of Hawai‘i and is complemented by stations installed and operated by monitoring part
Authors
Paul G. Okubo, Jennifer S. Nakata, Robert Y. Koyanagi

Petrologic insights into basaltic volcanism at historically active Hawaiian volcanoes

Study of the petrology of Hawaiian volcanoes, in particular the historically active volcanoes on the Island of Hawai‘i, has long been of worldwide scientific interest. When Dr. Thomas A. Jaggar, Jr., established the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) in 1912, detailed observations on basaltic activity at Kīlauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes increased dramatically. The period from 1912 to 1958 saw a gra
Authors
Rosalind T. Helz, David A. Clague, Thomas W. Sisson, Carl R. Thornber

Instability of Hawaiian volcanoes

Hawaiian volcanoes build long rift zones and some of the largest volcanic edifices on Earth. For the active volcanoes on the Island of Hawai‘i, the growth of these rift zones is upward and seaward and occurs through a repetitive process of decades-long buildup of a magma-system head along the rift zones, followed by rapid large-scale displacement of the seaward flank in seconds to minutes. This la
Authors
Roger P. Denlinger, Julia K. Morgan

The dynamics of Hawaiian-style eruptions: A century of study

This chapter, prepared in celebration of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatoryʼs centennial, provides a historical lens through which to view modern paradigms of Hawaiian-style eruption dynamics. The models presented here draw heavily from observations, monitoring, and experiments conducted on Kīlauea Volcano, which, as the site of frequent and accessible eruptions, has attracted scientists from around
Authors
Margaret T. Mangan, Katharine V. Cashman, Donald A. Swanson

A century of studying effusive eruptions in Hawaii

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) was established as a natural laboratory to study volcanic processes. Since the most frequent form of volcanic activity in Hawai‘i is effusive, a major contribution of the past century of research at HVO has been to describe and quantify lava flow emplacement processes. Lava flow research has taken many forms; first and foremost it has been a collection of bas
Authors
Katherine V. Cashman, Margaret T. Mangan

40Ar/39Ar geochronology, paleomagnetism, and evolution of the Boring volcanic field, Oregon and Washington, USA

The 40Ar/39Ar investigations of a large suite of fine-grained basaltic rocks of the Boring volcanic field (BVF), Oregon and Washington (USA), yielded two primary results. (1) Using age control from paleomagnetic polarity, stratigraphy, and available plateau ages, 40Ar/39Ar recoil model ages are defined that provide reliable age results in the absence of an age plateau, even in cases of significant
Authors
Robert J. Fleck, Jonathan T. Hagstrum, Andrew T. Calvert, Russell C. Evarts, Richard M. Conrey

Growth and degradation of Hawaiian volcanoes

The 19 known shield volcanoes of the main Hawaiian Islands—15 now emergent, 3 submerged, and 1 newly born and still submarine—lie at the southeast end of a long-lived hot spot chain. As the Pacific Plate of the Earth’s lithosphere moves slowly northwestward over the Hawaiian hot spot, volcanoes are successively born above it, evolve as they drift away from it, and eventually die and subside beneat
Authors
David A. Clague, David R. Sherrod