The Pu'u 'O'o-Kupaianaha Eruption of Kilauea Volcano, Hawai'i: The First 20 Years

The Pu‘u ‘Ö‘ö-Küpaianaha eruption started on January 3, 1983. The ensuing 20-year period of nearly continuous eruption is the longest at Kïlauea Volcano since the famous lava-lake activity of the 19th century. No rift-zone eruption in more than 600 years even comes close to matching the duration and volume of activity of these past two decades. Fortunately, such a landmark event came during a period of remarkable technological advancements in volcano monitoring. When the eruption began, the Global Positioning System (GPS) and the Geographic Information System (GIS) were but glimmers on the horizon, broadband seismology was in its infancy, and the correlation spectrometer (COSPEC), used to measure SO2 flux, was still very young. Now, all of these techniques are employed on a daily basis to track the ongoing eruption and construct models about its behavior. The 12 chapters in this volume, written by present or past Hawaiian Volcano Observatory staff members and close collaborators, celebrate the growth of understanding that has resulted from research during the past 20 years of Kïlauea’s eruption. The chapters range widely in emphasis, subject matter, and scope, but all present new concepts or important modifications of previous ideas—in some cases, ideas long held and cherished. This volume complements Professional Paper 1463, which includes a discussion of the first 1A years of the eruption, and the first chapter includes a bibliography that augments the material presented in both professional papers. Readers will note that many Hawaiian words are spelled differently in the two Professional Papers. Improved technology now allows the full complement of diacritical marks to be used, both to satisfy the new standards of the Board on Geographic Names and to honor the Hawaiian language after more than a century of neglect. Our principal sources are The Hawaiian Dictionary (by M.K. Pukui and S.H. Elbert, ©1986) and Place Names of Hawaii (by M.K. Pukui, S.H. Elbert, and E.H. Mookini, 2nd edition, ©1974), published by the University of Hawaiÿi Press. We depart from both the Board of Geographic Names and the Place Names dictionary in using the spelling “Halemaumau” for the largest pit crater in Kïlauea’s caldera, because local Hawaiian groups use two pronunciations. This spelling, without diacritical marks, permits both pronounciations. Many persons have contributed to this work. We would like to acknowledge those whose contributions have not been noted elsewhere but without whose assistance and support this volume would have taken much longer to complete: Jenda Johnson worked through the ins and outs of text, tables, and figures to seamlessly lay out each paper with a discerning eye. Ed Bonsey, Lee Ann Chattey, Susan Dieterich, and especially Deb Sheppard, HVO library volunteers, researched all the references in these papers to produce accurate citations, including the many variations on the spelling of “Puÿu ÿÖÿö.” The librarians at the U.S. Geological Survey library at Menlo Park, Calif., provided reference and citation support. Without their assistance, we could not have properly edited the References Cited sections. Finally, Peter Stauffer, George Havach, and Susan Mayfield of the Western Publications Group in Menlo Park put up with our contretemps and numerous queries and guided the volume to completion. The ongoing Kïlauea eruption has long since evolved from a scientific curiosity into a part of daily life in Hawai‘i. Though terribly destructive during its first eight years, it has also provided economic opportunities, visceral excitement, and artistic inspiration for the local community. In this light, we thought it appropriate to introduce the volume with a new poem, a tale about how Pu‘u ‘Ö‘ö acquired its name.

The Pu'u 'O'o-Kupaianaha Eruption of Kilauea Volcano, Hawai'i: The First 20 Years

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