Hawaiian Volcano Observatory celebrates its 100th birthday on Tuesday, January 17, 2012. It was founded by Thomas Jaggar, a geologist educated at Harvard University, who taught there and then moved to the faculty of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Jaggar had seen firsthand the destruction possible to be waged by a volcano when he traveled to the site of the Mon-Pele eruption in Martinique, where more than 30,000 people in the town of Saint Pierre died, leaving no more than 2 alive. Jaggar realized that Mon-Pele had been signaling its intent for at least a year with precursors such as seismic tremors–but back then, scientists were not monitoring volcanoes to help predict eruptions. That experience, and subsequent travels to the sites of volcanic eruptions, helped Jaggar conclude the right thing to do was create observatories to monitor volcanoes and earthquakes to help predict the future.
On a trip to Honolulu, one of his contacts suggested that Kilauea was a good location for the kind of monitoring Jaggar had in mind. A group of Honolulu businessmen agree to finance the venture, and on January 17, 1912, continuous volcano monitoring began. Although early instruments were primitive, they led to the capability of today’s scientists to monitor Hawaii’s volcanoes with seismometers, tiltmeters, satellites, GPS, and more.
Hawaiian Volcano Observatory is now under the aegis of the United States Geological Survey. More is at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory web site, hvo.wr.usgs.gov. There is also a complete schedule of activities for a rare HVO open house coming Saturday, January 21. That will include guided tours, naming winners of the HVO Anniversary poster contest, hands-on activities, and a chance to meet and talk with the scientists who work at HVO. Hawaiian Volcano Observatory is next to Jaggar Museum inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Park entry fees will be waived this Saturday.
