Mauna Loa volcano stands as the largest and most active volcano on Earth. With a rich history of eruptions that have shaped the Island of Hawai’s geography, Mauna Loa has captivated the fascination of scientists, residents and people worldwide. Let’s take a closer look at how Mauna Loa’s surface deformation has changed over the last several decades, focusing on its three most recent eruptions.

A “Kaleidoscope of Dance” will be on display this weekend when 93 Island Dance Academy dancers take the stage to showcase new skills and techniques developed over the year.

The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) is responsible for monitoring and studying one of the most active volcanic regions in the world. The observatory’s mission includes conducting research, providing scientific data to government agencies, and educating the public about volcanic hazards. In this unique environment, HVO’s information technology (IT) personnel play a critical role in supporting these goals while also adapting to ever-changing demands of scientific efforts and evolving federal regulations.

The Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement has opened registration for its 2024 Native Hawaiian Convention, which will be held from Sept. 17-19 at Hilton Waikoloa Village on Hawaii Island.

There are two categories of rice: Indica or Japonica. Glutinous or sticky rice is in the category of Japonica and is most often used to make desserts.

Last week’s Volcano Watch summarized Kilauea’s explosive eruptions of 1924 and their impacts on communities. This week, we dig a little deeper and share new discoveries we are making by examining the ash deposited during these events.

We tend to freak out when a new invasive plant species arrives in our islands, but most spread relatively slowly. Usually we have some time to either deal with them or learn to live with them. Being plants, they are at least sequestering carbon and supplying oxygen. Some like the Fountain Grass covering the raw lava flows help to break down the rocks and in time create habitat for birds and other wildlife. The downside is that it and other non native grasses also create the opportunity for fires to spread. This requires management practices to avoid fires such as grazing, firebreaks, planting fire resistant vegetation to shade out grasses, etcetera.