Geology topics
Research about Hawaii
Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Hawaii.
A deep research drill hole at Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii
A 1262-m-deep bore hole was drilled at the summit of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii, to test predictions based on surface geophysical surveys and to obtain information on the hydrothermal regime above a postulated magma reservoir. Data from the drilling and geophysical borehole logs tend to confirm earlier predictions that a mound of brackish or saline water is present above the inferred magma body. Temperatures within the hydrothermal system are not sufficiently high to indicate deposits of economic interest, but the gradient toward the bottom of the hole (approximately 160 m below sea level) is high, about 370°C per kilometer. The maximum temperature, 137°C, is at the hole bottom.
Water resources data for Hawaii and other Pacific areas, water year 1975
Water resources data for the 1975 water year for Hawaii and other Pacific Areas consist of records of stage, discharge, and water quality of streams; stage of a reservoir; and water levels and water quality in wells and springs. This report contains discharge records for 164 gaging stations; stage only record for 1 gaging station; water quality for 10 gaging stations, 56 partial-record flow stations and 113 wells; and water levels for 8 observation wells. Also included are 107 crest-stage partial-record stations and 103 low-flow partial-record stations. Additional water data were collected at various sites, not part of the systematic data collection program, and are published as miscellaneous measurements. These data represent that part of the National Water Data System operated by the U. S. Geological Survey and cooperating State, Territorial, and Federal agencies in Hawaii and other Pacific areas.
Probable effects of increasing pumpage from the Schofield ground-water body, Island of Oahu, Hawaii
No abstract available.
Tragedy at Kilauea
The following article is a reconstruction of events surrounding the deaths of a party of Hawaiian warriors in 1790 on Kilauea Volcano. It suggests that they were killed by a very hot, ash-free, base-surge cloud that rushed from the volcano. Much more recently than that, in the early morning hours of November 29, 1975, the largest earthquake in more than 100 years struck the southern part of the Island of Hawaii, causing widespread faulting and subsidence, an eruption at the summit of Kilauea Volcano, the loss of at least one life, and widespread damage to property. The effects of this earthquake are still being analyzed by the staff of the Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, but preliminary results indicate that much of the south flank of Kilauea Volcano moved seaward in an abrupt, slump-like manner. The eruption that followed was small by the usually Kilauea standards and is regarded as a leakage of lava from the volcano's underground reservoir system in response to the effects of the earthquake. A more detailed account of these events will be included in a future issue of the Earthquake Information Bulletin.
The 7.2 magnitude earthquake, November 1975, Island of Hawaii
The largest earthquake in over a century struck Hawaii the morning of November 29, 1975, at 4:48 AM HST. The earthquake was of magnitude 7.2 on the Richter scale. It was centered about 5 km beneath the Kalapana area on the southeastern coast of Hawaii, the largest island of the Hawaiian chain (Fig. 1) and was preceded by numerous foreshocks. The event was accompanied, or followed shortly, by a tsunami, large-scale ground movemtns, hundreds of aftershocks, an eruption in the summit caldera of Kilauea Volcano. The earthquake and the tsunami it generated produced about 4.1 million dollars in property damage, and the tsumani caused two deaths. Although we have some preliminary findings about the cause and effects of the earthquake, detailed scientific investigations will take many more months to complete. This article is condensed from a recent preliminary report (Tillings an others 1976)
Calculated geochronology and stress field orientations along the Hawaiian chain
A new method has been discovered for calculating ages of the main shield building stages of volcanoes along the Hawaiian chain from Kilauea to the Hawaiian-Emperor bend. The method is based on a graphical technique for hypothetical subtraction of distance intervals that theoretically represent regions of simultaneous volcanism along adjacent or nearly en-echelon loci of volcanism. Distances along the chain, measured from Kilauea, when progressively foreshortened by the distances of hypothetical “collapse” and plotted versus existing age data are found to give linear age-distance relationships. A calibration graph is presented that agrees closely with the measured ages in 17 of the 20 existing dated volcanoes. The criterion for simultaneous activity on different loci is based on the concept of equal azimuths of synchronous volcanic propagation within coeval segments of the chain. This is the predicted relationship when magmatic fluids inject the lithosphere along directions normal to a nearly horizontal least principal stress. It appears that the Pacific plate has been subjected to oscillatory, but principally clockwise, rotations of horizontal stress components during the last 40 m.y.
Chemical compositions of Kilauea east-rift lava, 1968–1971
The major element chemical compositions of lava from four eruptions on the east rift zone of Kilauea between August 1968 and October 1971 reflect three petrologic processes: Production of chemically distinct batches of magma in the mantle. Separation of olivine, augite, and plagioclase from liquid during flow in the rift-zone conduits. Mixing of different magmas during ascent to the surface. Chemically none of the four Kilauea east-rift eruptions matches the preceding summit eruption in Halemaumau that ended in July 1968. The Mauna Ulu eruption, May 1969 to October 1971 (the last of flie east-rift eruptions), can be divided into five olivine-controlled and chemically distinct variants. Three of these characterize the first seven months of the eruption and are closest in composition to the 1967–8 Halemaumau eruption. Variants 4 and 5 were erupted later and have compositions that are distinctly different from that of the 1967–8 eruption. Major differences are higher Al 2 O 3 (0·15–0·23 per cent), and lower K 2 O (0·07–0·10 per cent) and TiO 2 (0·12–0·23 per cent) in variants 4 and 5 at the same MgO content. Some lavas from eruptions in August and October 1968 and February 1969, have olivine-controlled magma compositions that are identical to mixtures of Mauna Ulu variants 1–3 and the 1967–8 composition. This observation fits an hypothesis advanced earlier by T. L. Wright and R. S. Fiske that magmas in the central magma chamber become mixed with magmas in the rift zone and can be identified as mixing components of rift eruption magmas before they appear as distinctive magmas in summit eruptions. Lavas representing mixing of olivine-controlled magma with differentiated magma were erupted in October 1968, February 1969, and in May and December 1969. The changes in amount of K 2 O and TiO 2 during the latter part of the 1969–71 Mauna Ulu eruption are the reverse of the overall secular change in composition of Kilauea summit lavas from pre-1750 through 1967–8. The K 2 O and TiO 2 contents of the latest overflows during the 1969–71 Mauna Ulu eruption (April 1971) are comparable to that of lava erupted at Kilauea summit prior to 1750. The changing chemistry of Kilauea magma is found to be of use as a ‘tracer’ in the complex Kilauea conduit system. Application of these data to older lava sequences is difficul because of the complexity of the processes controlling lava composition and the absence of detailed information about the time-space chemical variation during individual eruptions.
High-gain, long-period seismograph station installation report, Kipapa, Hawaii
A High-Gain, Long-Period Seismograph System, developed by the Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory, was installed at the Kipapa site of the Honolulu Observatory near Ewa Beach, Oahu, Hawaii in March 1972. Magnifications of 55,000 for the vertical component and 40,000 for the horizontal components were obtained. Velocity data are recorded both photographically and digitally. Displacement data are recorded digitally.
Water resources data for Hawaii and other Pacific areas, water year 1974
Water resources data for the 1974 water year for Hawaii and other Pacific areas including records of streamflow or reservoir storage at gaging stations, partial-record stations, and miscellaneous sites, and records of water-quality data on the chemical and physical characteristics of surface water, are given in this report. The records were collected and computed by the Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey under the direction of F. T. Hidaka, district chief. These data represent that portion of the National Water Data System collected by the U.S. Geological Survey and cooperating State, Territorial, and Federal agencies in Hawaii and other Pacific areas.
Contributions to the petrography and geochronology of volcanic rocks from the leeward Hawaiian Islands
Petrographic and chemical analyses of basalt from Nihoa Island, Necker Island, French Frigate Shoals, and Midway Atoll, all in the leeward part of the Hawaiian chain, confirm that these islands are subaerial remnants of tholeiitic shield volcanoes similar to those that form the principal Hawaiian Islands. Chemistry suggests that Gardner Pinnacles may be part of the alkalic cap on a tholeiitic shield. Weighted mean potassium-argon ages of 7.0 ± 0.3 m.y. for Nihoa, 10.0 ± 0.4 m.y. for Necker, 11.7 ± 0.4 m.y. for French Frigate, and 17.9 ± 0.6 m.y. for Midway demonstrate that the ages of these volcanoes increase northwestward, continuing the trend of increasing age away from the active volcano of Kilauea shown by the main islands. The increase in age with distance along the chain, however, appears to be nonlinear. The results support the general hypothesis that the volcanoes of the Hawaiian chain have a common origin and were formed as the Pacific plate moved northwestward over a melting spot in the mantle.
Volcanic hazards on the Island of Hawaii
Volcanic hazards on the Island of Hawaii have been determined to be chiefly products of eruptions: lava flows, falling fragments, gases, and particle-and-gas clouds. Falling fragments and particle-and-gas clouds can be substantial hazards to life, but they are relatively rare. Lava flows are the chief hazard to property; they are frequent and cover broad areas. Rupture, subsidence, earthquakes, and sea waves (tsunamis) caused by eruptions are minor hazards; those same events caused by large-scale crustal movements, however, are major hazards to both life and property. Volcanic hazards are greatest on Mauna Loa and Kilauea, and the risk is highest along the rift zones of those volcanoes. The hazards are progressively less severe on Hualalai, Mauna Kea, and Kohala volcanoes. Some risk from earthquakes extends across the entire island, and the risk from tsunamis is high all along the coast. The island has been divided into geographic zones of different relative risk for each volcanic hazard, and for all those hazards combined. Each zone is assigned a relative risk for that area as a whole; the degree of risk varies within the zones, however, and in some of them the risk decreases gradationally across the entire zone. Moreover, the risk in one zone may be locally as great or greater than that at some points in the zone of next higher overall risk. Nevertheless, the zones can be highly useful for land-use planning. Planning decisions to which the report is particularly applicable include the selection of kinds of structures and kinds of land use that are appropriate for the severity and types of hazards present. For example, construction of buildings that can resist a lava flow is generally not feasible, but it is both feasible and desirable to build structures that can resist falling rock fragments, earthquakes, and tsunamis in areas where risk from those hazards is relatively high. The report can also be used to select sites where overall risk is relatively low, to identify sites where either overall risk or risk from some specific hazard is relatively high, and to identify areas in which there is a threat to lives as well as to property. The report further can serve as a basis for warning persons about hazards in areas most likely to be affected by volcanic eruptions. Perhaps most important, however, the report provides basic information needed for zoning to control future land use.
Water resources data for Hawaii and other Pacific areas, water year 1972
Water resources data for the 1972 water year for Hawaii and other Pacific areas including records of streamflow or reservoir storage at gaging stations, partial-record stations, and miscellaneous sites, and records of water-quality data on the chemical and physical characteristics of surface water, are given in this report. The records were collected and computed by the Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey under the direction of W. L. Burnham, district chief. These data represent that portion of the National Water Data System collected by the U. S. Geological Survey and cooperating State, Territorial, and Federal agencies in Hawaii and other Pacific areas.
Water resources data for Hawaii and other Pacifica areas, water year 1973
Water resources data for the 1973 water year for Hawaii and other Pacific areas including records of streamflow or reservoir storage at gaging stations, partial-record stations, and miscellaneous sites, and records of water-quality data on the chemical and physical characteristics of surface water, are given in this report. The records were collected and computed by the Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey under the direction of W. L. Burnham, district chief. These data represent that portion of the National Water Data System collected by the U.S. Geological Survey and cooperating State, Territorial, and Federal agencies in Hawaii and other Pacific areas.
Trichomoniasis in the Hawaiian barred dove
Two barred doves found in the south Kona district of the island of Hawaii were diagnosed as having trichomoniasis on the basis of gross and microscopic lesions. This brings the confirmed list of columbid species susceptible to natural trichomoniasis to four and is the first report of the disease from columbids in the Hawaiian Islands.