U.S. Geological Survey
Professional Paper 1676

The Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō-Kūpaianaha Eruption of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i: The First 20 Years

Christina Heliker, Donald A. Swanson, and Taeko Jane Takahashi, Editors

2003

Lava flows from Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō wrap around Pu‘u Halulu (foreground) during eruptive episode 46. View southwestward; photograph taken by J. D. Griggs at 09:56 H.s.t., June 2, 1986.

From the Preface:

The Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō-Kūpaianaha eruption started on January 3, 1983. The ensuing 20-year period of nearly continuous eruption is the longest at Kīlauea 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 Kīlauea’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.

Note: Files available for this book consist of a cover, introductory material, and 12 chapters, a list of volunteers at Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and the entire book, all available here as PDF files

Cover for this book (288 KB)

Introductory material (including title page, table of contents, preface, list of contributors, and a poem about the origin of the name Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō) (1.1 MB)

Chapter 1. The First Two Decades of the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō-Kūpaianaha Eruption: Chronology and Selected Bibliography (5.1 MB)

Chapter 2. The Rise and Fall of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō Cone, 1983–2002 (5.4 MB)

Chapter 3. Correlation Between Lava-Pond Drainback, Seismicity, and Ground Deformation at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō (940 KB)

Chapter 4. Hawaiian Lava-Flow Dynamics During the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō-Kūpaianaha Eruption: A Tale of Two Decades (3.3 MB)

Chapter 5. The Transition from ‘A‘a to Pahoehoe Crust on Flows Emplaced During the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō-Kūpaianaha Eruption (2.9 MB)

Chapter 6. Thermal Efficiency of Lava Tubes in the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō-Kūpaianaha Eruption (908 KB)

Chapter 7. Magma-Reservoir Processes Revealed by Geochemistry of the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō-Kūpaianaha Eruption (1.1 MB)

Chapter 8. Lava-Effusion Rates for the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō-Kūpaianaha Eruption Derived from SO₂ Emissions and Very Low Frequency (VLF) Measurements (516 KB)

Chapter 9. The Shallow Magmatic System of Kīlauea Volcano (3.2 MB)

Chapter 10. Long-Term Trends in Microgravity at Kīlauea’s Summit During the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō-Küpaianaha Eruption (720 KB)

Chapter 11. Tectonic Pulses During Kïlauea’s Current Long-Term Eruption (1.9 MB)

Chapter 12. Stress Changes Before and During the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō-Küpaianaha Eruption (2.1 MB)

Chapter 13. Volunteers at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, 1983–2002 (76 KB)

Download the entire book (215 p.) (29.1 MB)

This report is also available in printed form by contacting:

USGS Information Services
Box 25286, Federal Center
Denver, CO 80225
telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS;
e-mail: infoservices@usgs.gov

For additional information:
Contact HVO
Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
U.S. Geological Survey
P.O. Box 51, 1 Crater Rim Road
Hawaii National Park, HI 96718-0051
http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/

Download a free copy of Adobe Reader

| Help | PDF help
| Publications main page | Western Professional Papers |