"Hard Times" in Hawaii: Geologists See Surprising Side of Paradise

Ask the average person if they'd like to go to Hawaii, and very few would hesitate to say "Yes," expecting nothing but sun and fun.

But a group of University of Cincinnati geologists is seeing paradise from a very different point of view. They spent a week this month studying the major volcanoes on Hawaii's Big Island, under the careful guidance of UC geology professors Attila Kilinc and Warren Huff. Still, there were problems.

Lisa Ventre, photo manager in UC Photographer Services found the soles of her shoes melting off while trying to capture images of recent lava flows up close.

The heat from the lava is that intense, even though the rocks on the surface are hard enough and cool enough to support humans walking across them. Underneath, the temperature was roughly 600 degrees Celsius. That's six times hotter than boiling water.

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