For this blog post, I am going back to natural phenomena. Was the earthquake I experienced in October a form of Pele (Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes, lava, and fire)? No, turns out the earthquake was just the weight of the island settling. Who knew! However, many earthquakes in Hawaiʻi are a result of volcanic activity. Part of what it means to be living in Hawaiʻi, and part of what it means to be a scientist working in Hawaiʻi, is knowing about the volcanoes. The Hawaiian Islands are on a volcanic hot spot. With the Pacific tectonic plate slowly moving to the northwest, existing islands are moved away from the hot spot, and new islands continually form over the hot spot. Photo I took while visiting the current eruption at Kīlauea, specifically at Halemaʻumaʻu Crater, in Volcanoes National Park. My friend and I visited just before sunset and enjoyed the transition through dusk until it was dark and the lava lit the sky! Similar to how city lights light up the sky. Hawaiʻi Island and the nearby new submarine volcanic island called Kamaʻehuakanaloa currently reside above the hot spot and have a lot of volcanic activity. I live and work on Hawaiʻi Island which is comprised of five major shield volcanoes. From oldest to youngest, they are Kohala, Maunakea, Hualālai, Maunaloa, Kīlauea. In September 2021, coincidentally just 10 days before the October 6.2 magnitude earthquake, Kīlauea began erupting again. Creating new island mass. New ʻāina. Since moving to Hawaiʻi, this was the first time a volcano erupted. I was excited and began experiencing a new part of life here. Rather than people asking, “What is the volcano activity today?” people ask, “How is Pele today?” To me, this is a much more personal way to communicate. Indicating that the volcano is more of a family member than just a geologic formation. On my first visit to the eruption, my friend and I also saw a moonbow that night! As the night progressed and less people were visiting, you could even hear the lava crackle as the lava fountained high into the sky. Pele has so much depth, and I am only just beginning to scratch the ʻike surface. There are many moʻolelo, oli, mele,kaʻao, and hula about Pele. I actually learned a hula about Pele in the hālau (traditional Hawaiian school) I am part of. This hula (example of this hula by a charter school on Oʻahu, final hula starts minute 20:15) is part of the hālau’s foundational curriculum because everything we do on the landscape has to do with who is under our feet. This energy of Pele is under our feet, she created the volcanic landscapes not just in Hawaiʻi, but the land all over our earth. The sheer amount of material about Pele is one indication of how important she is. Pele is central to Hawaiian Island formation which is central to island biogeochemistry and biodviersty of both flora and fauna. Pele is the name of the Hawaiian goddess, and pele is also the Hawaiian word for lava. There are two main types of pele, 1. ʻaʻā and 2. pāhoehoe. A way to remember that ʻaʻā is the sharp and spiky lava type is if you step on it you exclaim, “ah!”. In contrast, pahoehoe is smooth and easy to walk on. Many walking pathways of Hawaiians follow pahoehoe flows. Two other lava types I think that are of interest to note are 3. Pele’s hair and 4. Pele’s tears (page 40 on hyperlinked pdf). I had no idea these lavas existed until hearing people talk about them during this current eruption. Pāhoehoe flow in Volcanoes National Park along the Puna Coast Trail. There is so much to learn about where we live and work. Who knows how long Kīlauea will erupt this time, but I plan to keep learning about Pele. Whether we are somewhere new or somewhere more familiar to us, it is important to ask questions, engage with the landscape you are in, and learn about the cultures present. Silhouette of visitors taking in the spectacular eruption at Halemaʻumaʻu Crater of Kīlauea volcano.
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AuthorI started this blog as part of my Botany In Action Fellowship through Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens Archives
June 2023
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