Ka‘ū News Briefs, Saturday, July 17, 2021

Nick Shema with his intricate piece entitled Tonsu, created with three types of wood. Photo by Annie Bosted

KA'U AND VOLCANO WOOD WORK artists were among the creators chosen for Volcano Art Center's first biennial Wood Show. On display are 34 works of art selected by jurors Emily Weiss and Codie King. Artists met the public on Friday evening at the reception to mark the opening. 

    Ocean View artist Mats Fogelvik was selected to show his koa tables Lava Flow and Volcano. Volcano was made from one piece of curly koa with healthy sapwood, cut to veneers and joined with marquetry. The veneers were artfully arranged to mimic flowing lava. The “crater” and the rim was created from pheasant wood.

    Another local artist in the show is Michael Mortara, of Volcano, created Kiawe Hall Table enveloped in epoxy. Mortara told The Ka’u Calendar that he found the wood at Kamuela Wood Store, explaining that it would have been of no interest to most furniture builders as it was so fragmented. The epoxy preserves the shape and character of the wood, making it a table top. When not creating wood art, Mortara creates art from glass at his famous Volcano studio, Fahrenheit 2400.

Tiger Shark Nutcracker and Ukulele Beer Flight Server by Jim Harold. Photo by Annie Bosted

   Another wood artist Nick Shema created Tonsu with three types of wood. He explained, "This piece is a variation of the traditional Japanese merchant’s Tonsu in that it has multiple small drawers to hold the merchants wares. The frame is constructed with toon wood with the drawer fronts made of mango and the drawer bodies made of sugi.”

    Jim Herrold displayed two innovative pieces entitled Tigershark Nutcracker and Ukulele Beer Flight Server. The server is made from koa wood, while the nutcracker is created from macadamia wood and koa, with a stainless steel tiger shark to bite and crack open the nuts.

     According to Mike Nelson, the CEO of the Volcano Art Center, many island woodworking artists applied to be included in the show, and 18 were chosen. They are: Rose Adare, Daniel Alexander, Peter Barbarich, Henry Bianchini, Warren Brownell, Marcus Castaing, Mats Fogelvik, David Gallegos, Jim Harrold, Dustin Hesse, Tai Lake, Duane Millers, Michael Mortara, John Mydock & Les Pedersen, Nick Shema, Paul Schurch, and Robert Woodward. The show will be open to the public through Aug. 8,Wednesdays through Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani Campus, located at 19-4074 Old Volcano Road in Volcano Village. During the show, some wood artists will be on hand to share their work and talk story.

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LEARNING FROM THE 1983 MAUNA LOA ERUPTION is the title of this week's Volcano Watch written by U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists and affiliates: 
     Inflation and earthquake activity ramped up prior to Mauna Loa’s 1984 eruption, so much so that in June of 1983, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) indicated that an eruption could occur during the following year, though the exact timing was unknown.
    Increased earthquakes and tremor, a type of seismic signal associated with magma movement, began mere hours before glow was observed at the summit of Mauna Loa at 1:25 a.m., HST, on March 25, 1984. A few hours later, the eruption migrated to vents lower on the Northeast Rift Zone of the volcano. Vent locations and lava flow directions weren’t known until HVO was able to conduct an overflight at dawn.
   For the next three weeks, multiple lava flows slowly advanced in a northeast direction towards Hilo town. Much of the state was impacted by vog—volcanic air pollution.
 HVO monitored Mauna Loa’s 1984 eruption from the ground and air, but adverse weather would sometimes prevent visual observations, and therefore eruption updates. Heat released during the eruption caused convective currents resulting in local thunderstorms and snowfall in the vent region.
    Though lava flows did not cross it, the Saddle Road (Highway 200) remained closed during the 1984 eruption. Eruption spectators caused traffic congestion in Hilo, and some risked their safety to trespass into the closed area.
    Some power poles and lines were destroyed by a lava flow, impacting electrical service to a relay station and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Mauna Loa Observatory.
    HVO worked closely with Hawai'i County Civil Defense Agency, which planned to use a tiered system to convey to Hilo residents whether they would need to evacuate—Condition One: Be on alert status and prepared to evacuate within 36 hours. Condition Two: Flow anticipated within 24 hours, begin evacuating. Condition Three: Complete evacuation and secure the area.
    Daily press briefings were held by HVO and Civil Defense to share information on Mauna Loa’s eruption dynamics, flow locations, advance rates, and hazards. Local newspapers updated the public and provided maps showing approximate lava flow locations. In 1984, Mauna Loa lava flows stopped just 4.0 mi (6.4 km) from Hilo at the time.

Mauna Loa's 1984 eruption. Photo from National Park Service

    Technological advances since 1984 have improved HVO’s monitoring and communication capabilities. For example, HVO’s webcam network currently provides near real-time images of remote areas of Mauna Loa’s summit and rift zones. This network will be useful in quickly evaluating when the outbreak occurs, where the vents are located, and directions of lava flows.
    During Kīlauea’s decades-long Pu‘u‘ō‘ō eruption, HVO developed a method to create detailed lava-flow maps within hours of data collection. Hundreds of thermal and visual images collected during an overflight are stitched together to create a map showing lava flow extents and where lava flows are most active; the thermal maps can also reveal lava tube development.
    Modern digital elevation models of the ground surface can be used to forecast future lava-flow paths downslope, a technique refined during the 2018 lower East Rift Zone eruption of Kīlauea.
    HVO now shares data and information in near real-time on HVO’s public website. This includes webcams, maps, and multimedia, as well as HVO’s other monitoring datasets that inform us of earthquake activity, ground deformation, and volcanic gas emissions.
    The public can also subscribe to the USGS Volcano Notification Service for email notifications about volcanic activity in Hawaiʻi. The Hawai‘i Interagency Vog Information Dashboard is another valuable resource, providing information on gas hazards that can impact much of the state during an eruption.
    Reviewing the events of previous Mauna Loa eruptions can help Island of Hawai‘i residents and visitors to understand how a future eruption might progress and its potential impacts. Though the location and time of Mauna Loa’s next eruption are not known, it’s never too early to prepare for a future eruption and familiarize yourself with available resources. In the meantime, HVO will remain vigilant in monitoring Mauna Loa.