UC Volcano Course Offers Inside Look
At Kilaueau Lava Flows

UC geology students and two faculty members are spending the week before classes start getting a close-up look at the active volcanoes on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Led by Professor Attila Kilinc, department head in geology, the students are examining deposits left by three major volcanoes on the island.

They're also learning how to safely sample the lava flows from the Kilauea volcano which is currently sending a river of lava crashing down to the Pacific Ocean.

Below, UC geology undergraduates Lisa Fay and Brian Nicklen examine deposits along the Chain of Craters Road. The group also traveled along the Crater Rim road where they examined the Thurston Lava tube, a 15-foot high structure that allowed lava to flow underground from the volcano's summit to the sea. The lava tube is now cool enough and stable enough to allow students and tourists inside.

Some of the most colorful deposits were found along the Kilauea Caldera where steam escaping from the volcanic vents painted the nearby rocks with bright greenish-yellow sulfur deposits.

Still ahead for the group is a tour of the Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea volcanoes. Mauna Kea is noteworthy for its height. It extends so far above sea level that glaciers have formed and flowed along with the volcano's lava over the centuries.

UC photojournalists Lisa Ventre and Colleen Kelley accompanied the geologists and brought back images and video from both the Big Island and Maui.

Links to all stories can be found at www.uc.edu/news/volcano.htm