Oʻahu high school and community college students explored Hawaiʻi’s volcanoes and their hazards through a combination of field experiences and hands-on classroom activities. The week-long experience was offered by University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and Hawaiʻi Pacific University Earth scientists in summer 2023.
“The goal of the program was to connect the local students with Hawaiian geology and hopefully inspire them to pursue a path in the geosciences,” said Aaron Pietruszka, program co-instructor and associate professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at UH Mānoa’s School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST).
“We hoped to spark an interest in local geology by sharing information about the origins of the Hawaiian Islands and the volcanic and sedimentary processes that created the topography we see on Oʻahu,” said Reed Mershon, an Earth sciences graduate student who was an assistant instructor.
The students, 15 from Oʻahu high schools and one from Kapiʻolani Community College, participated in field trips and interactive classroom activities that brought to life the science and hazards of volcanoes.
One student, upon walking around the Lānaʻi lookout on Oʻahu, said, “I’ve passed by this place a million times and never thought about how it got there. It’s so cool to finally learn how and why Oʻahu looks the way it does.”
Lānaʻi Lookout is a volcaniclastic (rock that contains volcanic material) deposit consisting of several ash layers deposited by nearby vents—the students were able to observe the variations in the ash layers, indicating the dynamic eruptive conditions.
The instructors shared potential educational pathways and careers in geosciences. In an effort to include and welcome students who are from underrepresented groups in STEM fields. This program looked at volcanology with an Indigenous viewpoint.
“We connected the storytelling and history of the Hawaiian Islands with the local geology,” said Mershon.
Current activity, ancient processes
Through the National Science Foundation-funded project, the research team recently assembled what is likely the most complete collection of samples from the Emperor Seamounts, those to the north of the Northwestern Hawaiian Ridge seamounts. Some of the lava samples from the Hawaiian-Emperor Chain are extremely old—as old as 80 million years.
Mershon brought in a few samples for the students to observe and touch. After seeing a 45-million-year-old lava from Koko Seamount, one student said, “But wait, this looks just like the rocks near my house!”
“The rocks near their house and the rocks from these seamounts are extremely similar,” said Mershon. “It was really satisfying to see the student make this connection and realize that the current volcanic processes we see on Hawaiʻi Island are the same processes that created the ancient lava.”
The program will be offered again in summer 2024. To be notified when the application period for the program opens, email apietrus@hawaii.edu.
