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The PIPES Mo’o `Āina framework consists of four transformation pathway programs: Na’au (ancestral pathway program), `Āina (ecological pathway program), Kaiāulu (community pathway program), and Ka’ao (research pathway program).
This year, the USGS Hawaii Volcano Observatory (HVO) hosted a PIPES intern in the Ka’ao Pathway. During this pathway, interns can develop a research project from scratch, develop appropriate data processing protocols, or contribute to an existing project. The Ka’ao Pathway also promotes the transfer of knowledge from interns to mentors, encouraging mutual benefit and making us better stewards of the Hawaiian community.
For the past two months, HVO has had the pleasure of hosting Kamalani Poepoe, an undergraduate student at the University of Hawai’i at Hilo (UHH) majoring in astronomy and geology. She is working on a research project focused on Indigenous data science, biocultural studies, and quantitative/qualitative data collection and analysis. Paired with a co-mentor from HVO and the UHH Department of Geology, Kamalani’s research project focuses on identifying Kilauea volcano summit eruption in June 2023.
On June 3, 2024, Kamalani’s first day at HVO, Kilauea briefly erupted from the Southwest Rift Zone. Kamalani joined other HVO staff in enthusiastically responding to the eruption. In a series of on-the-job trainings, she assisted HVO staff and UHH partners in identifying Using Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (ED-XRF) to Analyze the Chemistry of Recent Eruption Samples.
In addition to her work on the recent eruption, Kamalani is analyzing samples from the June 2023 eruption to help us better understand why and how Kilauea continues to erupt. Her research is part of a larger project to characterize the products of the 2018 eruption after the volcano’s summit.
Kamalani crushes, sieves, and selects olivine, a green mineral common in Hawaiian basalt, for scanning electron microscopy (SEM) study. Her preliminary data show two different types of olivine crystals in the June 2023 eruption, suggesting that the magma from that eruption came from two different reservoirs beneath Kilauea’s summit.
In addition to studying the source of lava from Kilauea’s June 2023 eruption, Kamalani believes it’s important for HVO employees to learn Native Hawaiian customs of connecting to and observing ‘Aina. This aligns with PIPES’ approach of incorporating Native Hawaiian customs and rituals. Kamalani has performed ceremonies at the summit of Kilauea, presented ho’okupu (an offering) and ‘oli to Pele while conducting field work—and in the process helped HVO employees better understand the cultural significance of the places where they work.
When asked about her favorite part of the internship, Kamalani said, “I loved being able to work with HVO staff both in the lab and in the field. The eruption on the first day of the project was spectacular, and seeing fresh lava samples up close was incredible, something I’ve never experienced before. Where else in the world can you find rocks that are days or even hours old?”
At the end of the PIPES project in 2024, Kamalani joined her PIPES peers to present her project at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and at the Hawaii Conservation Conference in Honolulu.
The PIPES program and its participating partner institutions provide an important foundation for developing Hawai’i’s future leaders, while the Ka’ao Pathway provides students with the opportunity to gain scientific research experience that will aid them in their future careers.
Thank you so much to Kamalani for your great work over the summer, and to the PIPES program staff for providing us with another great opportunity to work together! HVO has been a partner of the PIPES program for many years, and we look forward to future opportunities to receive guidance from PIPES.
Volcano Activity Update
Kilauea volcano is not erupting. The U.S. Geological Survey volcano alert level is “warning”.
Seismic activity and ground deformation July 22-25, Kilauea volcano summit and upper-central eastern rift zone Intrusive Events. Over the past week, about 170 earthquakes were detected beneath the upper East Rift Zone at Kīlauea and between Maunaulu and Pu’u’ō’ō in the central East Rift Zone within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Kīlauea’s summit and central East Rift Zone continued to show slow expansion over the past week. Unrest may continue to wax and wane as magma input to these areas changes; changes could happen 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: at 6:34 p.m. on August 14, a magnitude 3.4 earthquake occurred 6 kilometers (3 miles) south of the volcano at a depth of 2 kilometers (1 mile); at 8:02 a.m. on August 14, a magnitude 3.7 earthquake occurred 10 kilometers (6 miles) east-northeast of Pahala at a depth of 31 kilometers (19 miles); at 6:50 p.m. on August 12, a magnitude 3.1 earthquake occurred 5 kilometers (3 miles) south-southwest of the volcano at a depth of 1 kilometer (0 miles); and at 5:19 a.m. on August 8, a magnitude 3.5 earthquake occurred 3 kilometers (1 mile) south-southwest of Pahala at a depth of 32 kilometers (20 miles).
HVO continues to closely monitor Kilauea and Mauna Loa.
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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