New USGS, UH facility to support volcano monitoring, ecosystem restoration

VIDEO NEWS RELEASE

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland (right) met with UH Hilo students.

Kīpaepae ceremony for new USGS facility at UH Hilo

Kīpaepae ceremony for new USGS facility at UH Hilo

New USGS facility at UH Hilo

New USGS facility at UH Hilo

New USGS facility at UH Hilo

New USGS facility at UH Hilo

Link to video and sound (details below):  https://tinyurl.com/yerpv5v4

To prepare ground for a new U.S Geological Survey (USGS) facility that will monitor volcanoes and support conservation science, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland attended a ground blessing and visited with University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo students on June 28. U.S. Senator Brian Schatz and USGS Director David Applegate also attended.

The facility, which will be located on the UH Hilo campus, will house the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and the USGS Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center. 

“We selected this location because of its unique qualities and partnership opportunities,” Applegate said. “One quality in particular that is critical to our future success is access to a very precious resource: students who can become our next-generation workforce, helping bring science to bear on some of the most challenging issues facing our nation and the planet.” 

The ceremony, called a kīpaepae, was coordinated by UH personnel. The kīpaepae included USGS and university staff and students, and focused on coming together in the new location.

“UH Hilo has a long and rewarding relationship with the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center, and I am excited for the additional opportunities their presence on campus will have for research partnerships and student internships,” said UH Hilo Chancellor Bonnie D. Irwin. “Working side-by-side with professionals in the field is an invaluable complement to the education students receive at our university.”

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory monitors and assesses hazards from active volcanoes and earthquakes in Hawai‘i, providing important science for emergency managers, scientists and local communities. The observatory was previously located in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, near the active volcanoes of Kīlauea, Mauna Loa, Lōʻihi and Hualālai. The observatory’s previous facility was irreparably damaged during the 2018 Kīlauea eruption.

The USGS Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center conducts research to support management and conservation of biological resources in Hawaiʻi and other Pacific locations. This includes scientific studies of imperiled species, invasive species and plant diseases such as Rapid ‘Ōhi‘a Death.

“Partnership and collaboration are at the heart of everything we do. I’m so excited about the collaborations that will be formed in this facility between USGS scientists and personnel, the brilliant faculty and the students who have already accomplished so much,” said Haaland. “As we celebrate this facility today, we celebrate the enduring relationship it represents for the Department of the Interior and the community at large, as well as the benefits this partnership will bring long after our time doing this important work is done.” 

Construction of the facility is estimated to be completed in late 2025.

VIDEO:

BROLL:

0:00-0:38 - Kīpaepae ceremony

0:38-1:04 - Speeches

1:04-1:22 - UH Hilo students meet

1:22-1:42 - Renderings of the facility

1:42-1:49 - File of volcano

1:49-1:55 - File of ‘ōhi‘a forest

SOUND:

Christine Tominiko, UH Hilo student/USGS intern (7 seconds)

“I think it’s a good space in which you can just discover new things.”

Mishell Vasquez Morales, UH Hilo student (14 second)

“It’s a major connection between us as students and like seasoned scientists and really being able to get an opportunity to find mentors, to be able to try on the different hats of science and see what feels good, what fits.”

Deb Haaland, U.S. Secretary of the Interior (15 seconds)

“With this new facility, university students will have opportunities to grow and advance their careers in science so that one day they are the ones conducting the hazard or volcano monitoring or making the next scientific discovery.”

Bonnie Irwin, UH Hilo Chancellor (17 seconds)

“I’m just grateful to all of our federal partners. We’re creating a whole little research park up here. And so to have the Department of Agriculture, forestry and USGS is going to make really powerful collaboration with our STEM programs here at UH Hilo.”

David Applegate, USGS Director (16 seconds)

“I think having the opportunity to colocate with the university is just going to make it that much easier for our scientists to interact and engage with their colleagues at the university and in particular to be able to tap into the extraordinary students you have here.”