Tag Archives: Hawaii

Magma making earthquakes on Hawaii

Volcanic happenings are afoot on the Big Island of Hawaii. To be clear, Kilauea has been erupting continuously since 1983, but activity has waxed and waned. The last few weeks have definitely seen an uptick in unrest, with inflation and … Continue reading

Categories: earthquakes, geohazards, volcanoes

Hotspot volcanism on Hawaii: textbook vs reality

Just like an iceberg, the parts of the Hawaiian Islands that you see above the ocean surface are dwarfed in volume by the stuff below the waves. For a start, any volcano that forms in the middle of the Pacific … Continue reading

Categories: geology, outcrops, photos, tectonics, volcanoes

Geological maps: still interesting even when there’s only one rock type

The USGS, in collaboration with NASA, have just released a geological map of Jupiter’s ultra-volcanically active moon Io, based on images from the Voyager and Galileo probes. It is a thing of beauty. The sheer variety of different geological units … Continue reading

Categories: geology, planets, volcanoes

Scenic Saturday: from desert to verdant grassland in 10 miles (and 1000 m)

Why large climatic contrasts occur over short distances on Hawaii – and why this is scientifically important. Continue reading

Categories: geomorphology, outcrops, photos, volcanoes

Scenic Sunday: a hike across Hawaiian lava

Fortunately, the schedule for my recent trip to the Big Island of Hawaii included a couple of days of field excursions – I think the conference organisers realised that they would happen regardless, so they decided to make them official … Continue reading

Categories: outcrops, photos, volcanoes