Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes – Natural Hazards
Cooperative program of the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
The Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes (CSAV), operated out of UH Hilo, is a training and outreach program that provides information on volcanic and natural hazards that occur in Hawaiʻi and worldwide. Their Natural Hazards Big Island resource provides information on volcanoes, vog, earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, floods, brush fires, and civil defense. Their staff, including director Don Thomas, do research, monitor Hawai‘i volcanoes, and conduct public outreach. You can even contact them for school visits! Are you interested in incorporating natural hazards into your classroom teaching and learning? Here are some possible connections!
Are volcanic eruptions fast or slow (2-ESS1-1)? Watch videos on CSAV’s YouTube or Vimeo channels to observe volcanic eruptions in Hawai‘i. Use these videos as evidence of Earth events that happen on a faster timescale.
Do volcanoes interact with the atmosphere and ocean (5-ESS2-1)? CSAV is part of the Hawaii Interagency Vog Information Dashboard. Learn more about vog, use various vog and wind models, and look at space-based vog data, to create a simple model, such as a diagram or drawing, to illustrate how the geosphere can interact with the atmosphere. There is also an interesting story and pictures of lightning in the volcanic plume that is another example of a geosphere-atmosphere interaction.
How do people prepare for and respond to volcanic hazards in Hawai‘i (4-ESS3-2; MS-ESS3-2; HS-ESS3-1)? Learn more about notable hazardous events, including the participation of researchers in the response to these events. Explore multimedia resources, such as the volcano image gallery and videos, to observe impacts of volcanoes and other natural hazards. Visit CSAV partner Hawaiian Volcano Observatory to learn about volcano observations and predictions, and Hawai‘i County Civil Defense Agency to learn more about emergency preparedness, disaster recovery, and volcano hazards. Use all of this information and evidence to consider the impact of volcanic hazards and how people in Hawai‘i respond.
Related lesson resources If standards are not noted, the lesson may not be fully aligned to NGSS and may need to be adapted.
Exploring Plate Tectonics – SEA (Grade 4)
Kīlauea Volcano: Be a Volcanologist (Grades 6–8)