Kaʻū News Briefs, Sunday, July 9, 2023

THE NEW KEIKI 'OHANA FLAG FOOTBALL PROGRAM drew more than 30 players on Saturday to

'Ohana Flag Football Coach Todd Marinovich and Coach Jerry Nwosuocha lead the keiki. Photo by Mark Peters

Pāhala Ballpark. Kaʻū High Trojan football players Baron Marinovich, Keyson Pagan and Ocean Sesson assisted Coaches Todd Marinovich, Jerry Nwosuocha and Mark Peterson to mentor the younger and older keiki squads. 

     Head Coach Todd Marinovich is a former University of Southern California quarterback and LA Raiders quarterback who moved his home to Kaʻū. The program is free. 

    Marinovich said the idea is for keiki to play flag football without pads and helmets. Head injuries are prevented as flag football has no tackling. He said young people should not put on helmets and pads until high school.

      New players, ages 6-12, are welcome to join in from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. each Saturday. Next week on July 15, the practice moves to Nāʻālehu Ballpark. The program continues through Aug. 5.

    For more information, contact Todd Marinovich at 510-387-5669.

     

Kaikala Grace makes a move with the ball in Flag Football. Photo by Mark Peters

Imogen Ortega and Matea Ridgely joined 'Ohana Flag Football. Photo by Joy Marie Ridgely

YOUNG WAHINE HAVE SIGNED UP FOR 'OHANA FLAG FOOTBALL. The Ka'u Calendar intern Joy Marie Ridgely, age 13, sent in the following piece regarding the view of  participating families with young ladies in Flag Football:

    "For fifty-one years Title IX has enabled female athlete participation nationwide. Despite being monumental for the women’s rights movement, Title IX is surrounded by an abundance of controversy. However, Pāhala tells a different story. Instead of tiptoeing around each other's differences, Pāhala doesn’t seem to even notice them. 

    "An example of this can be seen in the local football camp run by the former NFL player Todd Marinovich. In addition to adding depth to Pāhala’s high school football team, this program welcomes children of all genders. Imogen Ortega and Matea Ridgely, ages five and six, participated for the first time this last Saturday, and will continue to do so at Nāʻālehu Ballpark for the remaining two weeks of the program."

     'Ohana Flag Football next Saturday, July 15 will be 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. at Nāʻālehu Ballpark. It wraps up on Saturday, Aug. 5, also at Nāʻālehu Ballpark.

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CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF ACTIVE VOLCANOES is holding its annual summer International Training Course in Volcano Hazards Monitoring. This year is the 30th course since its inception in 1990 after a three-year hiatus due to the COVID pandemic. The training course is a product of the partnership between the University of Hawai'i at Hilo, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, and USGS Volcano Disaster Assistance Program.
    The program is the focus of this week's Volcano Watch, the weekly column from USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. It is authored by Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes staff Darcy Bevens and Meghann Decker: Participants are scientists and technicians working at volcano observatories in developing countries with active volcanoes that threaten populated areas. This year, our twelve participants have traveled to Hawaii from the Philippines, Indonesia, Peru, Chile, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Colombia, Costa Rica, and El Salvador. Andrea Aguillar, ageophysicist from Chile, said, "After 3 years of waiting I'm finally here, directly from Coyhaique from Chilean Patagonia, happy to learn from the instructors and my colleagues...Everything I learn here will be useful for what we do as a country and without a doubt this experience will be the most enriching that I will have in my training as a professional and it will be worth being away from my son for so many weeks."

  The eight-week course begins on the Island of Hawai'i, where participants learn techniques HVO uses to monitor shield volcanoes and the hazards associated with Hawaiian-style eruptions.

  According to Juan José Idárraga, a geologist in Colombia, "CSAV international course is the best experience that every volcanologist wants to have. I've been waiting for the course for some years and it is absolutely worth it. We have seen and learned amazing things just in a week. This course gives us the opportunity to learn from the best scientists and in the best natural laboratory: Hawaiian Volcanoes."
    The CSAV International Training Course provides an invaluable natural laboratory for studying volcanic eruptions due to the frequent activity on Kīlauea. Dave Rivera, a research specialist from the Philippines says, "Three years in the making and finally we're here. It was definitely worth the wait to finally see the famous Hawaiian Volcanoes we only see in textbooks, plus a warm welcome by Pele."
    The timing for the course was perfect because three days into the program, a spectacular eruption within Halemaʻumaʻu crater began. CSAV International participants were able to examine the eruption safely from Uēkahuna bluff, where they viewed the distant lava lake and fountains within Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park during the first day of the eruption. The group had been anticipating the eruption 

after observing increased seismic activity on Kīlauea. Most participants work on volcanoes that can generally erupt more explosively tha volcanoes in Hawai'i. So, after six weeks of hands-on field and lab work in Hawaii, the group travels to the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory to spend two weeks working with VDAP. There they will conduct field work to observe geologic hazards such as fast-moving lahars (mud/debris flows) and pyroclastic flows associated with more explosive volcanoes such as Mount St. Helens. Wahyu Kusuma, a volcano observer from Indonesia, says a "Big thanks for all of the best instructors. In my few days here, I learn so much." Besides learning from highly dedicated course instructors, CSAV participants also learn from one another and build invaluable connections with other scientists.

    Many challenges exist in volcano hazard monitoring, as no two volcanoes or eruptions are identical. CSAV International participants return home not only familiar with modern monitoring techniques but also with a network of scientific experts and contacts at partner organizations to communicate and share ideas about eruption forecasting and hazard mitigation. You can read more about the CSAV International course here: https://hilo.hawaii.edu/csav/international/.

On June 7, 2023, the first day of Kīlauea's most recent eruption, CSAV International Training Course participants visited Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park to observe the Halemaʻumaʻu lava lake. These participants are scientists and technicians who work at volcano observatories in the Philippines, Indonesia, Peru, Chile, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Colombia, Costa Rica, and El Salvador. CSAV training is a product of the partnership between the University of Hawai'i and the USGS. CSAV training in Hawai'i emphasizes volcano monitoring methods, both data collection and interpretation, in use by the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. UH Hilo photo.

VOLCANO ACTIVITY UPDATES: Kīlauea is not erupting. Its USGS Volcano Alert level is ADVISORY.
Active lava has not been visible within Halemaʻumaʻu crater at the summit of Kīlauea since June 19. Earthquake activity in the summit region has been low over the past week. Summit tiltmeters showed gradual inflation for much of the past week. A sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission rate of approximately 135 tonnes per day was measured on June 30.
    Mauna Loa is not erupting. Its USGS Volcano Alert Level is at NORMAL.
Webcams show no signs of activity on Mauna Loa. Seismicity remains low. Summit ground deformation rates indicate slow inflation as magma replenishes the reservoir system following the recent eruption. SO2 emission rates are at background levels.
    There were three earthquakes with three or more felt reports in the Hawaiian Islands for the week ending last Wednesday: a M3.0 earthquake 12 km (7 mi) SSW of Honoka'a at 36 km (22 mi) depth on July 4 at 4:27 a.m. HST, a M3.0 earthquake 3 km (1 mi) SSW of Pāhala at 35 km (21 mi) depth on July 3 at 10:32 a.m. HST, and a M3.4 earthquake 15 km (9 mi) S of Pa'auilo at 18 km (11 mi) depth on June 30 at 2:23 p.m. HST.
    HVO continues to closely monitor Kīlauea and Mauna Loa. Email questions to askHVO@usgs.gov.