The 20-year period of nearly continuous eruption of Kilauea is the
volcano's longest since the famous lava-lake activity of the 19th
century. No rift-zone eruption in more than 600 years even comes close
to matching the duration and volume of activity of these past two
decades. Fortunately, such a landmark event came during a period of
remarkable technological advancements in volcano monitoring. When
the eruption began, the Global Positioning System (GPS) and the Geographic
Information System (GIS) were but glimmers on the horizon, broadband
seismology was in its infancy, and the correlation spectrometer (COSPEC),
used to measure SO2 flux, was still very young.
Now, all of these techniques are employed on a daily basis to track
the ongoing eruption and construct models about its behavior. The
12 chapters in this volume, written by present or past Hawaiian
Volcano Observatory staff members and close collaborators, celebrate
the growth of understanding that has resulted from research during
the past 20 years of Kilaueas eruption. The chapters of this
new report range widely in emphasis, subject matter, and scope,
but all present new concepts or important modifications of previous
ideasin some cases, ideas long held and cherished.
See USGS
Professional Paper 1676, The Pu`u `O`o-Kupaianaha Eruption of Kilauea
Volcano, Hawai`i: The First 20 Years.
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