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2018 Kīlauea Disaster Supplemental Funding: Reporting and Communications

By Kīlauea

Through the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019 (H.R. 2157), the USGS received Supplemental funding to support recovery and rebuilding activities in the wake of the 2018 Kīlauea volcano eruption. This page provides a list of the publications, data releases, meeting abstracts, and other public communications funded by the Supplemental.

Publications: 

  • Roman, D.C.; Soldati, A.; Dingwell, D.B.; Houghton, B.F.; Shiro, B.R. 2021. Earthquakes indicated magma viscosity during Kīlauea’s 2018 eruption. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03400-x    

  • Namiki, A.; Patrick, M.R.; Manga, M.; Houghton, B.F. 2021. Brittle fragmentation by rapid gas separation in a Hawaiian fountain. Nature Geosciences, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-021-00709-0 

  • Houghton B.F.; Cockshell, W.A.; Gregg, C.E.; Walker, B.H.; Kim, K.; Tisdale, C.M.; Yamashita, E. 2021. Land, lava, and disaster create a social dilemma after the 2018 eruption of Kīlauea volcano. Nature Communications, 12:1223 | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-21455-2  

  • Houghton B.F.; Tisdale C.M.; Llewellin E.W.; Taddeucci J.; Orr T.R.; Walker B.H.; Patrick M.R. 2020. The birth of a Hawaiian fissure eruption. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 126, e2020JB020903. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JB020903   

  • Color photograph of volcanic vent and lava lake
    Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
    The west vent in Halemaʻumaʻu erupting and building a spatter cone complex, with lava cascades feeding a growing lava lake at Kīlauea summit. USGS photograph from January 11, 2021, by B. Carr.

    Patrick M.R.; Houghton B.F.; Poland M.P.; Anderson K.R.; Montgomery-Brown E.; Johanson I.; Thelen W.; Elias T. 2020. The cascading origin of the 2018 Kīlauea eruption and implications for future forecasting. Nature Communications, 11:5646 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-19190-1   

Videos: 

Color photograph of road damaged by earthquakes
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
On January 1, 2021, with permission from Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, HVO researchers set up temporary seismic instruments around Halema‘uma‘u crater to collect data that will help them learn more about how magma travels in the shallow magmatic plumbing system beneath Kīlauea Volcano. In this photo, the field crew hikes along a portion of Crater Rim Drive road that was damaged during the 2018 Kīlauea summit collapse in order to reach one of the temporary seismic instrument deployment sites. USGS image by P. Dotray.

Volcano Watch articles: 

Data Releases: 

  • Mosbrucker, A.R., Zoeller, M.H., and Ramsey, D.W., 2020, Digital elevation model of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaiʻi, based on July 2019 airborne lidar surveys: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9F1ZU8O.  

  • Patrick, M.R., Swanson, D.A., Zoeller, M.H., Mulliken, K.M., Parcheta, C.E., Lynn, K.J., Downs, D.T., and Flinders, A.F., 2021, Water-level data for the crater lake at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, Island of Hawaiʻi, 2019–2020: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9262JDH. 

Color photograph of scientist measuring lava lake
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
An HVO geologist takes Kīlauea summit eruption lake-level, spatter-cone, and dome-fountain measurements with a laser rangefinder. The top of the dome fountain in Halemaʻumaʻu was up to 5 meters (16 ft) above the lake surface. The lake elevation suggests a maximum lava lake depth of approximately 193 m (211 yd). HVO scientists monitor the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption from within an area of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park that remains closed to the public for safety reasons. They are equipped with a range of specialized safety gear and personal protective equipment such as gas masks, helmets, gloves, and eye protection. This view is to the northwest from the south rim of Halemaʻumaʻu crater.  USGS photo by H. Dietterich at 10:14 a.m. HST on 1/6/2021.

AGU Fall Meeting abstracts: 

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