Dr. Hazlett presents a scientific overview of the largest eruption of Kīlauea volcano on the Island of Hawaiʽi in 200 years, which ended last September. Ten thousand persons were displaced or threatened, 700 homes buried with lava, and 800 acres of new land added to the island. Geologists tracked the unfolding activity with GPS receivers, seismometers, drones, infrasound and other technologies, some applied systematically to volcanoes for the first time. This eruption was historically important; scientists and residents of the Big Island will be talking about it a century from now.
Dr. Hazlett was one of the participating geologists from the U.S. Geological Survey monitoring this activity, and will speak about what it taught us as we learn to live more wisely with Nature.
Dr. Richard Hazlett is a volcanologist, artist, environmentalist and academician who taught for 28 years at Pomona College in Southern California and currently is appointed as an affiliate faculty member of the Geology Department at the University of Hawaiʿi in Hilo, and a research associate with the U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. In addition to playing an intimate role monitoring and recording the recent Kīlauea east rift zone eruption, his field work has taken him as far afield as Central America, Italy, Iceland, and Alaska’s Aleutian Islands. His hobbies include snorkeling and reef-fish identification, landscaping, and practicing classical guitar. He is a resident of Wainaku, on the flank of Maunakea. He is a co-author of two books of local interest, “Roadside Geology of Hawaii” (Mountain Press), and “Volcanoes: A Global Perspective” (Wiley-Blackwell Publishing).
Bring your friends, or just bring yourself to our Lecture Series once a month. Speakers will present topics of special interest for high desert residents. The lectures start at 12:00 p.m. Admission is $ 5 or free for Museum Members/Sponsors. Beverages will be served.