In 2007 a 3.5 km deep research bore hole was completed near the Hilo Airport. The project recovered more than 3400 m of rock cores that provide the most detailed geologic record of the growth and evolution of Hawaiian volcanoes that is currently available. The bore hole recovered rocks from an estimated 40,000 years of Mauna Loa’s activity and as much as 700,000 years of Mauna Kea’s growth and evolution. The geologic structures encountered during the drilling were found to be much more complex than had been expected and were found to have important implications for groundwater movement and storage within the Big Island.

Presenter Dr. Don Thomas grew up in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Maryland and attended college in central Pennsylvania. He came to Hawaii in 1972 to pursue his Ph.D. on the chemistry of Kilauea's volcanic gases. After completing his doctorate degree, he received a research appointment at the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics, at UH-Manoa, to continue research on Kilauea's activity and to pursue research on Hawaii's geothermal resources. Currently, he serves as Director of the Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes, a cooperative effort of UH-Manoa, UH-Hilo, and the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, located at UH-Hilo.

Location: Mokupäpapa Discovery Center at 308 Kamehameha Avenue in Downtown Hilo