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Volcano Watch is a weekly article and activity update written by scientists and affiliates at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.
It was May 16, 2018, and HVO employees had spent the previous two weeks hard at work monitoring the eruption and summit crater collapse in the lower volcano’s East Rift Zone on Kilauea. The HVO building, located on the rim of Kaluapelei (Kilauea’s summit crater), was shaken by up to 400 earthquakes a day. As cracks in the floors and walls widened and multiplied, so did the concerns of the HVO employees who worked there, until we heard the inevitable words. As we reluctantly left the office that day, we had no idea that we would never work there again.
Although we moved away from our cherished workplace, HVO still had work to do, so employees didn’t hesitate to continue working in temporary offices in Hilo. We didn’t have time to ponder the fate of our building, although we held out hope of restoring it. At the time, our focus was simply on responding to the ongoing destructive lava flows and summit collapse at Kilauea.
It was only after the volcanic crisis ended in 2018 that HVO staff learned that the building was too damaged to be safely reoccupied. The news that the building would be razed came as a shock.
HVO’s history began in 1912At the time, geologist Thomas A. Jaggar, Jr. recognized the need for ongoing monitoring of Hawaii’s active volcanoes and raised funds to construct a building on the northeast rim of Kaluapele, near what is now Volcano House. After the building was demolished in 1940, HVO staff shared the ‘Ōhi’a wing near what is now Volcano House for two years with National Park staff. The observatory then occupied a building where the Kilauea Visitor Center is today until 1948, when HVO relocated to its current building at Uēkahuna on Kaluapele’s west rim.
In 1986, HVO moved into a larger facility built next to the original Crater Rim Building, which was returned to the National Park Service and converted into the Thomas Jagger Museum. The 1986 building served as the home of HVO until 2018.
HVO’s mountaintop location is ideal for monitoring Hawaii’s two most active volcanoes, Kilauea and Mauna Loa. A tower atop the building provides an unobstructed view of both volcanoes, which was particularly helpful when a lava lake appeared at Halemaumau, Kilauea’s summit, in 2008.
From 1948 to 2018, HVO staff realized what a privilege and inspiration it was to work in the buildings at Uēkahuna in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The location provided spectacular views, and we could easily observe the Upper Rift Zone of Kaluapele and Kīlauea. Hundreds of volunteers and visiting scientists from around the world, as well as countless students, came to HVO to learn about and experience the only USGS observatory located on the summit of an active volcano.
Volcanoes rarely erupt at will, so HVO staff sometimes have to monitor eruptions around the clock. The HVO building was like a second home to many of the staff, so its loss is heartbreaking.
Demolition of the HVO building at Uēkahuna is nearing completion. For all of us who worked there, to say we are saddened would be an understatement. Losing such an iconic facility is truly the end of an era.
We were pleased to learn that after some buildings were demolished, their materials were used elsewhere. For example, rocks from their exterior walls were used to build HVO’s new field station near the Kilauea Barracks in the National Park. Like the previous building at Uēkahuna, the new field station will allow HVO staff to reach Kilauea field sites in a matter of minutes, repairing monitoring instruments or recording volcanic activity when necessary.
Another USGS facility is currently under construction at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, which will provide office and laboratory space for HVO and the USGS Pacific Island Ecosystem Research Center (PIERC). Until then, HVO will continue to carry out its mission from temporary bases in Hilo and Keao.
As HVO moves to new surroundings, those of us who worked in the Kalua Pele Edge building are grateful for the experience and look back fondly on the years spent there.
Volcano Activity Update
Kilauea volcano is not erupting. The U.S. Geological Survey volcano alert level is “warning”.
Minor seismic activity and ground deformation continue to occur at the summit and in the upper and central parts of the East Rift Zone at Kilauea following the July 22-25 intrusion event. Over the past week, approximately 525 earthquakes were detected beneath the upper East Rift Zone at Kilauea, and approximately 250 earthquakes were detected between the Maunaulu and Makaopuhi craters in the central part of the East Rift Zone within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Over the past week, Kilauea’s summit has exhibited slow expansion. Unrest may continue to wax and wane as magma input to these areas changes; changes could occur quickly, and so could the potential for an eruption.
Mauna Loa is not erupting. The U.S. Geological Survey volcano alert level is normal.
Four earthquakes were reported in the Hawaiian Islands over the past week: a magnitude 3.5 earthquake occurred at 9:44 a.m. Hawaii Standard Time on July 29, 15 kilometers (9 miles) south of the volcano at a depth of 6 kilometers (4 miles); a magnitude 3.4 earthquake occurred at 9:43 a.m. Hawaii Standard Time on July 29, 15 kilometers (9 miles) south of the volcano at a depth of 7 kilometers (4 miles); a magnitude 3.7 earthquake occurred at 9:40 a.m. Hawaii Standard Time on July 29, 15 kilometers (9 miles) south of the volcano at a depth of 7 kilometers (4 miles); and a magnitude 2.7 earthquake occurred at 11:24 p.m. Hawaii Standard Time on July 27, 5 kilometers (3 miles) south of the volcano at a depth of 1 kilometer (0 miles).
HVO continues to closely monitor Kilauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes.
Visit the HVO website for past volcano monitoring articles, the latest news on Kilauea and Mauna Loa, volcano photos, maps, recent earthquake information, and more. Please email questions to askHVO@usgs.gov.
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