While the most recent eruption of Kilauea volcano was short-lived, it provided an exciting hands-on learning opportunity for students using the University of Hawaii at Hilo geology lab.
The 8.5-hour eruption started at 12:30 a.m. on Monday, June 3, about 2.5 miles southwest of Halema‘uma‘u crater.
Later that day, UH-Hilo geology alum Baylee McDade, a physical science technician at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, sprung into action at the geology lab to study samples of spatter that were gathered in the field.
“We were working fairly quickly when it started,” she said. … “Historically, eruptions have been short-lived in the area, so the timing was not unexpected.”
The last eruption in the area was 50 years ago and only lasted six hours as it covered about 2.75 square miles. The June eruption was not as productive and only covered 350,000 square meters, according to HVO.
While working alongside McDade during and after the eruption, Kamalani Poepoe, a UH-Hilo sophomore geology student and HVO intern, learned how to use the equipment necessary to analyze the samples and quickly establish the chemistry of the fresh eruptive material.
McDade and Poepoe started the process by powdering the samples before using an energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence machine, or EDXRF, which uses X-rays to determine the elemental composition of materials.
“After recording where the samples were found and who collected them, we make sure they are quite dry before powdering them to get a smaller portion for the EDXRF machine,” McDade said. “We got the first results … around 6 p.m., which was a little glimpse into what we may find working the next day.”
According to McDade, HVO recorded high magnesium oxide content, which usually indicates a lot of olivine and a high temperature. However, more analysis is needed to answer questions about the preeruptive history of the magma.
“This is my first time actually seeing fresh material from an eruption, which was really exciting. The opportunity to analyze hours-old, or even days-old, eruptive material is such a unique experience,” Poepoe said. “This hands-on work is crucial for us as students, especially in undergrad, when we want to know more about what we could be doing each day.”
During her undergraduate studies, McDade participated in UH-Hilo’s Hawaii Cooperative Studies Unit, where she had the opportunity to work closely with HVO petrologist Kendra Lynn and volcanologist Drew Downs in the lab during the 2022 Mauna Loa eruption.
Her experiences through the geology program guided McDade to attend graduate school at Western Washington University this fall where she will be studying petrology, which is the study of chemistry, structures and properties of the mineral constituents of rocks.
“Working with Kendra in the lab and seeing everything she has done really inspired me and gave me a realistic idea of what it means to be a research geologist,” McDade said. “Looking at the history of minerals and what they go through before an eruption is so cool and so important. This just feels like it’s exactly what I want to do.”
Poepoe is interning at HVO this summer through UH-Hilo’s Pacific Internship Programs for Exploring Science, or PIPES, program and will be using her new lab experience for a project, which will compare this year’s eruption to the June 2023 eruption.
“For geologists, we look to the past to find answers for the present. To better understand what volcanoes do next, we have to look at what they’ve done before,” Poepoe said. “I get really excited when looking at all these samples from past eruptions to find patterns and see what’s changed over time.”
While working toward a degree in geology, Poepoe also is majoring in astronomy and hopes to merge the two sciences one day.
“I have a goal to use both of these majors in my future research,” Poepoe said. “I’d love to study volcanoes on Earth first, but then I want to start studying them on celestial bodies, like Jupiter’s moon, Io.”
Email Kelsey Walling at kwalling@hawaiitribune-herald.com