Kaʻū News Briefs March 10, 2024

In February, Dr. Jim Kauahikaua, of USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, who died last October, received the first award

given by the International Association of Volcanology & Chemistry of the Earth's Interior. The honor, with speech by
Dr. Ken Hon, HVO's Scientist in Charge was given at a meeting of Cities on Volcanoes held in Guatemala in February.
Kauahikaua was a Volcano resident and often spoke at volcano events in Kaʻū. USGS Photo

HVO SCIENTISTS TRAVELED TO THE CITIES ON VOLCANOES CONFERENCE in February. The latest Volcano Watch, written by USGS Hawaiian Volcanoes Observatory scientist Naalia Deigne, explains: In February, the volcanological community gathered for the 12th edition of Cities on Volcanoes (COV12), a conference of the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior.
This conference series started in 1998, with the third conference held in Hilo in 2003; Cities on Volcanoes conferences are held every two to three years in a city that co-exists with and is influenced by volcanism.
This year COV12 was in Antigua, Guatemala, the colonial capital of Guatemala from 1543-1773, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. Three volcanoes, Fuego, Agua, and Acatenango, are located near Antigua. Fuego is quite active: minor explosions happen multiple times a day, with the resulting ash plumes visible from Antigua (quite a sight over breakfast!). Tragically, on June 3, 2018, Fuego had its largest eruption in more than 40 years, with pyroclastic flows (fast moving flows of hot gas, volcanic ash, and rocks) killing hundreds of people, mostly within a single rural community on the southeast flank of the volcano.
About 650 people from around the world attended COV12, including volcano observatory staff, academics from a variety of disciplines, students, emergency managers and government officials, indigenous cultural practitioners, artists, and local residents. Seven State of Hawaii residents attended,

During Cities on Volcanoes conference, participants walk next to buildings of La Reunión Golf Resort damaged by pyroclastic flows during the June 3, 2018, eruption of Fuego volcano. The USGS photo shows Fuego in the background, a minor explosion underway and a small volcanic ash plume rising from the summit. At right, during the conference closing ceremony, Dr. Jim Kauahikaua was posthumously awarded the first IAVCEI Honorary Award. HVO Scientist-in-Charge Ken Hon (center) accepted the award from the IAVCEI President and Secretary, on behalf of the Kauahikaua family.
Image from the Instituto Nacional de Sismología, Vulcanologia, Meteorologia e Hidrología in Guatemala.

hailing from the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense Agency, and the University of Hawaiʻi (Hilo and Mānoa).
Conferences such as COV12 allow participants to share experiences, ideas, observations, and research findings. Four of the five conference days either started or ended with three or four general talks followed by a panel discussion open to the public. Together, these sessions explored volcanology and risk reduction in Latin America and beyond, with special attention paid to the role and contributions of local and indigenous communities, and emerging, more inclusive and holistic research approaches. These were conducted in both English and Spanish, with simultaneous translation provided.
Most of the rest of the conference consisted of concurrent sessions, each grouped around a topic. Participants faced a tough choice for which of the many fascinating sessions to attend. Sessions at COV12

The late Dr. Jim Kauahikaua, of HVO.
Photo from Hawaiian Volcano Observatory

included short (5 minutes or less) and longer (12 minute) talks, panel discussions, facilitated participant discussions, and poster sessions that prompted engaging dialogues around specific studies, experiences, and initiatives.
The Hawai'i contingent played an active role in the conference, including running and presenting in sessions such as Lessons from recent eruptions and other crises, Long-term engagement and interaction between civil authorities and volcano observatories, The Indigenous voice in volcanology, Multidisciplinary investigations to unravel the structure and dynamics of active volcanic systems, and Creating “volcano-ready” communities.
During the third day of the conference, participants could attend one of two field trips: visiting either Pacaya or Fuego volcano. Pacaya volcano is near the capital Guatemala City, and its eruption in 2010 resulted in volcanic ash covering the city and causing significant disruption (for example, the airport was closed for nearly five days). Those who chose the Pacaya field trip were treated to a long hike and beautiful vistas.

The Fuego field trip focused on that volcano’s deadly June 2018 eruption. Participants visited the La Reunión Golf Resort that was evacuated prior to pyroclastic density currents sweeping through, destroying and inundating much of the resort. This was followed by a visit to San Miguel Los Lotes, the village where hundreds of fatalities were caused by these pyroclastic density currents. Most buildings in this village are still buried under many feet and tons of deposits, with no night-time occupancy permitted. It was sobering and sad to walk down a cleared street near where so many had perished in and near their homes.
At the end of the conference, the late Dr. Jim Kauahikaua of HVO was awarded the first IAVCEI Honorary Award, along with the late Dr. Peter Hall from the Instituto Geofísico de la Escuela Politécnica Nacional (Ecuador’s volcano monitoring entity). This award was given in recognition of Jim’s contribution and services to volcano monitoring and risk reduction, which continues to serve as an example for the entire volcanology community. HVO Scientist-in-Charge Ken Hon gave a moving tribute in Jim’s honor.
Cities on Volcanoes will soon return to the USA for the first time since 2003, with the next edition to be held in Bend, Oregon, in 2026.

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A bright red adult ʻiʻiwi. Photo by Janice Wei

PARADISE UNDER PRESSURE: TRACKING THE RARE FOREST BIRDS OF HAWAI'I is the topic at
After Dark in the Park this Tuesday, March 12 at 7 p.m. at Kīlauea Visitor Center auditorium in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.

Avian ecologist Seth Judge. NPS photo

The announcement notes that Hawaiʻi has suffered the extinctions of more than 70 percent of its native forest birds since the islands were colonized by people. Introduced avian diseases and their vectors have pushed remaining birds into upland forests on Mauna Loa and Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, where surveys to estimate population densities and trends have been conducted since the 1970s.
National Park Service Avian Ecologist Seth Judge describes the trends of native forest birds and how a warming climate has contributed to their decline. Part of Hawai‘i Volcanoes’ ongoing After Dark in the Park programs and co-sponsored by the Friends of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Free, but park entrance fees apply.

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A HUGE ROCK THAT TAKEN FROM KAʻŪ TO WASHINGTON, D.C. will be returned by the National Museum of the American Indian this summer. Named Kānepō, the boulder was leant to the museum through the Kūpuna Advisory Council of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park 20 years ago. Halena Kapuni-Reynolds, curator of the museum, released the following statement in Hawaiian and English:
Aloha mai kākou! ʻO Halena kēia, ke kahu o ka moʻaukala a me ka moʻomeheu Hawaiʻi ma ka hale hōʻikeʻike aupuni o ka poʻe ʻŌiwi o ʻAmelika. Ma ka ʻaoʻao komohana o kā mākou hale hōʻikeʻike ma Wakinekona D.C., ua hoʻonohonoho ʻia he pōhaku nui mai Hawaiʻi mai no ka hōʻike ʻana aku i kā mākou

Kānepō, a huge boulder from Kaʻū, will be returned this summer from
National Museum of the Native American Indian in Washington, D.C.
Photo from The Smithsonian Museum

kuleana i ka poʻe ʻŌiwi o Hawaiʻi. ʻO Kānepō ka inoa o kēia pōhaku, a no ka moku o Kaʻū ma ka mokupuni ʻo Hawaiʻi mai ʻo ia. I ka makahiki 2004, ua hāʻawi ʻia ʻo Kānepō e ka ʻAha Kūpuna o ka Pāka Aupuni ʻo Kīlauea no nā makahiki he iwakālua. I loko o ia manawa, ua kipa nui ʻia ʻo Kānepō e ka lehulehu, a waiho pinepine ʻia nā hoʻokupu nona. I kēia kauwela, e hoʻohanohano ʻia ana kēia pōhaku kaulana ma ka Hoʻolauleʻa Moʻomeheu, a laila, e hoʻihoʻi ana ʻo ia i kona ʻāina kamahaʻo. Ke ʻike ʻoe iā Kānepō, e aloha aku ʻoe iā ia e like me kekahi kūpuna i aloha nui ʻia.
Greetings everyone! This is Halena, the curator of Native Hawaiian history and culture at the National Museum of the American Indian. On the western side of our museum in Washington D.C., a boulder from Hawaiʻi was placed in order to demonstrate our responsibility to representing Native Hawaiians. Kānepō is the name of this rock, and they are from the Kaʻū District on Hawaiʻi Island. In 2004, Kānepō was given by the Kūpuna (Elders) Advisory Council of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park for 20 years. In that time, they have been greeted by many people, and numerous offerings were left for them. This summer, this celebrated rock will be honored at the Folklife Festival and then sent home to its wonderful land. When you see Kānepō, greet him like you would an esteemed elder.
ʻŌlelo Pākuʻi: Mahalo a nui loa iā ʻoukou pākahi a pau no kou mau manaʻo e pili ana iā Kānepō. ʻO ka manaʻo nui o nā ʻōlelo kākoʻo a me nā ʻōlelo hoʻohalahala, ʻo ia hoʻi ke aloha o ka poʻe Hawaiʻi no kā lākou ʻāina a me nā pōhaku. ʻO kēia aloha ke kumu i hāʻawi ʻia ʻo Kānepō no ka manawa i hiki iā ia ke

Kānepō from Kaʻū, outside Museum of the Native
American Indian, in Washington, D.C.
Photo by Julia Neal

hoʻi i Kaʻū. E like me ʻoukou, ua kūkākūkā nui ka ʻAha Kūpuna no ka hoʻouna ʻana i kekahi pōhaku i Wakinekona D.C. i ia mau makahiki 20 aku nei. Ua hōʻike ʻia nā mānaʻo kākoʻo a me nā mānaʻo kānalua no kēia hana, a no laila, ua hoʻoholo ka ʻAha Kūpuna e hoʻouna iā Kānepō me ka manaʻo e hoʻihoʻi mai ʻo ia i Hawaiʻi i ka manawa kūpono. I loko o nā makahiki 20, ua kipa pinepine ʻia ʻo Kānepō e ko Hawaiʻi poʻe iā lākou e huakaʻi ana ma Wakinekona D.C. Ua waiho nui ʻia nā hoʻokupu nona, a he hōʻike hou kēia o ke aloha o ka poʻe Hawaiʻiiā ia. Mahalo aku kākou i ka ʻaha kūpuna a me ka poʻe o Hawaiʻi no ka ʻae ʻana iā mākou e hōʻike aku iā Kānepō i kēia mau makahiki he nui. Na mākou ke kuleana e hoʻihoʻi iā ia i kona onehānau i kēia kauwela.
Halena said, "Thanks to each of you for voicing your perspectives on Kānepō. Overall, your support and criticism illustrates how much aloha Native Hawaiians have for their lands and stones. This aloha is the reason that Kānepō was loaned so that they could be returned to Kaʻū. Just as you have done, the Kūpuna Advisory Council spent much time deliberating whether or not they should send a stone to Washington D.C. 20 years ago."

"There was support as well as doubt shared in doing this, thus the decision was made by the Council to send Kānepō with the intent of returning them to Hawaiʻi at the right time. In the past 20 years, Kānepō has been visited frequently by Native Hawaiians visiting Washington D.C. Many offerings were left for them—another testament to the aloha that Native Hawaiians have for them. We are grateful to the Kūpuna Council and to Native Hawaiians for allowing us to show Kānepō over these many years."

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