Kaʻū News Briefs Thursday, Oct.19 , 2023

Volcanologist Jim Kauahikaua in front of a dome fountain from a skylight at 2,450 feet elevation on Feb. 1, 1996. Photo by Carl Thornber, U.S. Geological Survey

ALOHA 'OE TO THE LATE, REMARKABLE, BELOVED VOLCANOLOGIST, DR. JIM PU'UPAI KAUAHIKAUA is the message in the latest Volcano Watch. The weekly column by U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists and affiliates points out that Kauahikaua was a respected geophysicist and the first Kānaka Maoli (indigenous Hawaiian) to serve as Scientist-in-Charge of the

Dr. Jim Kauahikaua was first Kānaka Maoli to be Scientist in Charge at Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. USGS photo

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. He passed away in the early morning hours of Sunday, Oct. 8 at the age of 72.
     Kauahikawa grew up on Oʻahu; he attended Kamehameha Schools, Pomona College in California, and University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. In 1988, he joined the staff at HVO as a research geophysicist and found his true home living among and studying the volcanoes on the Island of Hawai'i. He was dedicated to pursuing research that would directly benefit the people of Hawaiʻi Nei.
    His first projects applied electrical resistivity in large surveys across the Island of Hawaiʻi to map groundwater resources in west Hawaiʻi and the Humu'ula Saddle. He also mapped water-saturated rock around the summit of Kīlauea volcano, which became important in his later work.
    Kauahikawa creatively adapted similar techniques to measure the dimensions of active lava flowing within lava tubes. Along with lava flow velocities, this information was used to calculate changes in eruption rates that was crucial as the community of Kalapana was covered by lava in 1990. The destruction there triggered his strong interest in lava flow hazards and mitigation, topics that continued to be focal points of his research throughout his career.
    The internal structure of volcanoes also intrigued Kauahikawa, as a means to better understand patterns

Kauahikaua using an instrument that detects very low  frequencies on Pu'u'ō'ō lava flows. USGS photo

of eruptions and earthquakes. During a decade-long project, he measured differences in gravity across the Island of Hawaiʻi, the results of which provided a startling picture of the subsurface. This work was central to developing a model for Hawaiian volcanoes, with their flanks being pushed outwards by dense cores, creating major earthquakes and fracture zones where eruptions are more likely to occur.
    Over the course of his career, Kauahikawa gradually grew from a scientist to a scientific historian with a deep interest in exploring the intersection of western scientific thought and traditional Hawaiian knowledge. Initially, he read accounts in English, largely written by westerners, detailing Hawaiian recollections of past events. Later, he worked with a variety of collaborators translating documents written in Hawaiian so that their perspectives on volcanic events could provide a better understanding of how Hawaiian volcanoes work.
    Kauahikawa worked with colleagues in the National Park Service and other organizations to develop ways to communicate that resonated more deeply with the community. He was also involved in Na Pua Noʻeau and other groups that engage Native Hawaiian students. In 2013, he arranged a workshop bringing scientists and Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners together. He wrote of that event, "we hope that a broader interest in Hawaiian views about locations in Hawaiʻi where physical scientific work is done will...benefit

Kauahikaua conducts an interview at the summit of Kīlauea as Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Scientist-in-Charge. USGS photo

the native peoples of Hawaiʻi."
   Kauahikawa's tenure as HVO Scientist-in-Charge, from 2004–2015, was one of the longest in HVO's history. During those years, he navigated HVO staff through several periods of volcanic unrest and crisis. He also led an effort to modernize HVO's monitoring network, developing a resilient telemetry structure that allowed the network to remain operating even after the HVO building was damaged in 2018. He was recognized for his substantial career contributions in both science and leadership by the US Geological Survey and the Department of the Interior in 2015 with a Citation for Meritorious Service.
    After stepping down as Scientist in Charge, Kauahikawa served as the principle HVO contact to emergency management officials during Kīlauea's devastating 2018 eruption. His combined knowledge of community, historical eruptive activity, and lava flow hazards were crucial to keeping responders informed as the eruption progressed.

Dr. Jim Kauahikaua, accompanied by his wife, Jeri Gertz, traveled  to Washington, D.C., where he received the DOI Meritorious Service Award on May 5, 2015, in recognition of his scientific contributions  in the field of volcano hazards and leadership of the Hawaiian  Volcano Observatory for the U.S. Geological Survey. USGS photo

    When water appeared within Halemaʻumaʻu in 2019, it confirmed his early career work that Kīlauea's summit was underlain by water-saturated rock at shallow levels. Kauahikawa then poured through Hawaiian literature, finding references of Pelehonuamea facing the threat of water drowning her volcanic fires at Kīlauea summit, which suggest water had previously been present there. Most recently, he had been focusing on using various records to create detailed reconstructions of eruptive histories extending into the early 1800s as a means to better understand the range of activity we could expect during periods of prolonged summit eruptions.
    Volcano Watch concludes with the big picture. "Kauahikawa brought volcano monitoring at HVO into the modern era and established a deeper cultural understanding of how HVO is connected to the ʻāina and the people we serve. We are grateful to Jim for his passion and dedication, which will continue to inspire us moving forward."