Volcano Watch is a weekly article and activity update written by scientists and partners at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. This week’s article was written by HVO geologist Kendra J. Lynn and geology professor Lis Gallant of the University of Hawaii at Hilo.
The Pacific Internship Programs for Exploring Science (PIPES) celebrates 30 years of developing the next generation of aloha ʻāina leaders in Hawai‘i and the Pacific through transformative place-based internships, mentoring, innovative programming, and strategic partnerships.
The PIPES Moʻo ʻĀina framework includes four transformative pathway programs: Naʻau (Ancestral Pathway Program), ʻĀina (Ecological Pathway Program), Kaiāulu (Community Pathway Program), and Kaʻao (Research Pathway Program).
This year, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) hosted a PIPES intern in the Kaʻao program. In this program, an intern can formulate a research project from scratch, develop appropriate protocols for handling data, or contribute to an existing project. The Kaʻao program also encourages knowledge transfer from the intern to their mentors and promotes reciprocity to make us better stewards of the Hawaiian community.
For the past two months, HVO had the pleasure of hosting Kamalani Poepoe, a University of Hawai’i at Hilo (UHH) student double majoring in astronomy and geology, pursuing a research-focused project that focused on indigenous data science, biocultural research, and quantitative/qualitative data collection and analysis. Kamalani was paired with co-mentors from HVO and the UHH Geology Department, whose research plan focused on determining the chemical composition of Kīlauea’s June 2023 summit eruption.
On Kamalani’s first day at HVO, June 3, 2024, Kīlauea briefly erupted from the Southwest Rift Zone. Kamalani and the rest of the HVO staff enthusiastically threw themselves into the eruption response work. In a whirlwind of hands-on training, she helped HVO staff and UHH partners determine the chemistry of recent eruption samples using dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF).
In addition to participating in the recent eruption, Kamalani also analyzed the June 2023 eruption samples to help us better understand how and why Kīlauea keeps erupting. Her research is part of a larger project to characterize the eruption products after the 2018 summit.
Kamalani crushed, sifted and collected olivine—the common green mineral in Hawaiian basalts—for scanning electron microscopy (SEM) examination. Her preliminary data show that there are two different types of olivine crystals from the June 2023 eruption, suggesting that the magmas involved in that eruption came from two different reservoir regions beneath Kīlauea’s summit.
In addition to her work to understand the origin of the lava that erupted from Kīlauea in June 2023, Kamalani felt it was important for HVO staff to learn Native Hawaiian practices for connecting and observing the ʻāina.
This is consistent with the PIPES approach of integrating Native Hawaiian customs and protocols. Kamalani implemented protocol at the summit of Kīlauea by presenting a ho’okupu (an offering) and ‘oli to Pele while conducting fieldwork—and in doing so, helped HVO staff better engage with the cultural significance of the place they work.
When asked what she liked most about the internship, Kamalani said, “I liked being able to work in the lab and in the field with the HVO staff. The eruption on my first day of the program was amazing. Seeing fresh lava samples up close was incredible and I’ve never experienced that before. Where else in the world can you find rocks that are days or even hours old?”
At the conclusion of the 2024 PIPES program, Kamalani met with her PIPES colleagues at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa and at the Hawai’i Conservation Conference in Honolulu and presented her project.
The PIPES program and participating partner agencies provide an important foundation for training future leaders in Hawai‘i, and the Ka’ao Pathway provides students with opportunities to gain experience in scientific research that will help them in their future careers.
Mahalo nui loa to Kamalani for her outstanding work over the summer and to the PIPES program staff for providing another wonderful opportunity to collaborate! HVO has been a partner of the PIPES program for the past few years and we look forward to future PIPES mentorship opportunities.
Updates on volcanic activity
Kīlauea is not erupting. The USGS volcano alert level is “Volcano Warning.”
Following the July 22-25 intrusive event, seismic activity and ground deformation continue to be observed at Kīlauea’s summit and in the upper to middle East Rift Zone. During the past week, approximately 170 earthquakes have been recorded beneath Kīlauea’s upper East Rift Zone, and approximately 170 events have occurred between Maunaulu and Puʻuʻōʻō in the middle part of the East Rift Zone in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Kīlauea’s summit and the middle East Rift Zone have continued to show slow extension during the past week. Unrest may continue to wax and wane with changes in magma supply in these areas; changes can occur rapidly, as can eruption potential.
There is no eruption on Maunaloa. The USGS volcano alert level is NORMAL.
Four earthquakes were reported in the Hawaiian Islands during the past week: a magnitude 3.4 earthquake 3 miles south of Volcano at a depth of one mile on August 14 at 6:34 p.m., a magnitude 3.7 earthquake 6 miles east-northeast of Pāhala at a depth of 19 miles on August 14 at 8:02 a.m., a magnitude 3.1 earthquake 3 miles south-southwest of Volcano at a depth of less than one mile on August 12 at 6:50 p.m., and a magnitude 3.5 earthquake 1 mile south-southwest of Pāhala at a depth of 20 miles on August 8 at 5:19 a.m.
HVO continues to closely monitor Kīlauea and Maunaloa.
Visit HVO’s website for past Volcano Watch articles, updates on Kīlauea and Mauna;oa, volcano photos, maps, information on recent earthquakes, and more. Email questions to [email protected].
