As the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory continually improves our monitoring and eruption response capabilities, we acquired a new, state-of-the-art instrument called an Absolute Quantum Gravimeter. HVO scientists are excited about the AQG’s ability to measure very small mass changes beneath the ground surface, which will help detect underground volcanic processes.

This weekend is the last two days of winter and Monday is officially the first day of spring. It has been a dry winter for many parts of the island, but now some areas are beginning to get a bit of spring rain. This makes it difficult to make general recommendations that apply to all. Parts of the windward side received enough precipitation to remove nutrients like nitrogen and actual topsoil as well. West Hawaii received much less but with our excessively porous rocky areas, even an inch of rain can leach important elements essential to plant growth.

This Thursday is St. Patrick’s Day and what comes to mind is corned beef and cabbage and Irish soda bread. But Irish barmbrack, which is sort of a fruitcake and bread with flavored dried fruit and spices. Although usually served around Halloween to celebrate their harvests, it is also a great St. Patrick’s Day treat.

Disturbances to a magma or lava body — such as Kilauea Volcano’s underground summit magma reservoir or its current lava lake — can occur for a variety of reasons, including rising gas pockets or the fall of wall rocks into a lava lake. When a body of magma or lava is disturbed, the fluid in it can respond by vibrating or sloshing in a variety of ways.

Whether you have a home with a large yard or an apartment with a small lanai, plants create a more luxurious mood. Attractive trees, shrubs and lawns actually increase the value of a home. In fact, if you cut down that big shade tree in the front yard, you may actually be reducing the value of your property by thousands of dollars. Just think how much it would cost to have a landscape company replace it! When trees are destroyed, it affects the whole community.

Kai(n) or Kai Cuisine opened their brick and mortar shop at 346 Kilauea Avenue last year. It has become a happening block with Hilo Bottle Shop and Basically Books next door. At the end of the building, the Pizza Hut is being demolished to make room for a drive-thru Taco Bell.

The Feb. 3 installment of “Volcano Watch” introduced some of the data streams that are used to monitor eruption pauses and renewals at Kilauea’s summit, including ground tilt from borehole tiltmeters. Tilt data also provided valuable insight into the behavior of the lava lake that occupied Halema‘uma‘u crater from 2008–18, before the series of collapses in 2018 changed Kilauea’s summit topography.

The COVID-19 pandemic has clearly made us aware of how our individual lives and even society can be altered in a very short time by disease organisms. Our forests and landscapes can change rapidly as well. A very warm, wet period or a dry one can drastically alter the species makeup of a forest. For example, our ohia forests are suffering not only from Rapid Ohia Death, but from other diseases as well.