Two presentations by UH Hilo geologists during Volcano Awareness Month
Geologists Steve Lundblad and Cheryl Gansecki will each give a free public presentation in January on tracking activity at Kīlauea caldera and Maunaloa, respectively.
‘A‘ohe pau ka ‘ike i ka hālau ho‘okahi │ One learns from many sources │ A publication from the Office of the Chancellor, University of Hawai‘i at Hilo
Geologists Steve Lundblad and Cheryl Gansecki will each give a free public presentation in January on tracking activity at Kīlauea caldera and Maunaloa, respectively.
The 60,000-square-foot Integrated Research Center will bring together staff from both the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and the Pacific Islands Ecosystems Research Center to study hazards from active volcanoes and earthquakes in Hawai’i.
The group headed out to see the eruption in late afternoon Dec. 23 and watched until sunset so they could see the glow. “It was an amazing experience!” says Chancellor Bonnie Irwin.
The three alumna—Miki Warren, Liliana DeSmither, and Katie Mulliken—are currently working at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory helping with data collection and public communication during the current eruption that began Dec. 20,2020.
UH Hilo students, working closely with scientists, have played important roles in collecting and analyzing the data following the 2018 lava event. Thus far, two groups of students have traveled to scientific conferences to present their findings.
The $2,500 first place prize was awarded to a team of four students from UH Hilo and Hawai‘i Community College who designed an app that connects community members with skills and materials to rebuild homes that were lost during the 2018 lava flow.
In this week’s Volcano Watch, a weekly activity update written by USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists and colleagues, a geophysicist writes about how local high school students enrolled in the UH Hilo Upward Bound program scientifically monitored the 2018 eruption of Kīlauea Volcano. “All it took was a bit of knowledge, support, and passion.”
During the eruption, members of the UH Hilo drone team provided data to Civil Defense to aid in a range of ways, such as helping residents to recoup losses.