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SPECIAL TO WEST HAWAII TODAY
Matt Patrick, a geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, will present two talks about Kilauea Volcano in East Hawaii in the coming week. The presentations are part of a series of HVO talks being held during Hawaii Island’s third annual Volcano Awareness Month and in celebration of HVO’s 100th anniversary.
An update on the active volcanic vent within Halemaumau Crater at the summit of Kilauea will be the topic of Patrick’s talk on Tuesday. The “After Dark in the Park” presentation will be held at 7 p.m. in the Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The talk is free, but park entrance fees apply.
The vent in Halemaumau Crater opened in March 2008. Since then, the eruption has consisted of constant degassing, occasional explosive events, continuing ash emissions and fluctuating lava lake activity within an open vent that has now grown to more than 430 feet wide. Patrick will present an overview of this ongoing summit eruption and its current status.
Tracking Kilauea’s ongoing eruptions will be the topic of Patrick’s second presentation, which will be at 7 p.m. Thursday at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. The talk is free and open to the public. It will be held in the University Classroom Building, Room 100, on the UH-Hilo main campus, 200 W. Kawili St., in Hilo. A map of the campus is online at hilo.hawaii.edu/images/maps/main_campus_map.pdf.
In addition to the summit eruption that began in March 2008, Kilauea has been erupting essentially nonstop for the past 29 years at vents along the volcano’s east rift zone. During those years, the volcanic activity has included erupting fissures, spectacular lava fountains, and numerous flows of aa and pahoehoe lava. Patrick will review these significant events and describe how USGS scientists track Hawaii’s volcanic activity.
For more information about Patrick’s presentations, other Volcano Awareness Month programs and HVO Centennial events, please visit the HVO website at hvo.wr.usgs.gov or call 967-8844.
USGS provides science for a changing world. For more information, visit usgs.gov. Subscribe to USGS news releases via our RSS feed.