Hawaii Provides "Hot" Learning Experience

Geology 210 studies volcanoes

Posted Wednesday, April 2, 2003

It was spring break, and it was Hawaii – but students in Thom Wilch, Beth Lincoln and Tim Lincoln’s Geology 210 class were actually hard at work on the beaches and volcanoes of Hilo.  The field trip gave students a chance to observe firsthand what they’d been studying all semester – as well as watch (geological) history in the making. 
 

Albion College students Steve Anderson, Lauren Nelson, Ed Epp and Jen Swindlehurst, studying seacliffs formed by wave erosion in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. 

Photo by Tim Lincoln

“[Part of studying geology is] looking at volcanic rocks and trying to imagine how they were formed,” says Wilch.  “But with the volcanoes in Hawaii you can see lava flowing and rocks being created.  It’s incredible from a geological standpoint.”

The lava flow, recalls sophomore Karen LaFlair, was “so hot that I would stand 20 feet away from it and I’d be sweating.  [Wilch] stood about 10 feet away from the flows for at least 45 minutes, videotaping.  By the time he was done the bottom of his shoes were melted a bit and he was just drenched in sweat.”

Assistant professor of geology Thom Wilch (center) and  students watch and record the advance of a tongue of a lava flow in the park.  Photo by Tim Lincoln

Wilch, a volcanologist whose primary research focus is Antarctic volcanoes, explains that Hawaii is a “hot spot” for young geologists to do research.  “For our students, it’s the easiest and closest spot of access to an active volcano,” he says. 

“Hawaii’s volcanoes are young and very active ….Volcanoes are a window into the deep earth,”  Wilch continues.  The study of volcanoes, he says, helps geologists to “learn more about the processes that are occurring deep in the earth.  Also, volcanoes can be hazardous to humans, so it’s important to understand when and why they erupt.”
 

Exploring the Southwest Rift system and a young lava flow that has spilled into it, near the summit of Kilauea Volcano, Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.  Photo by Tim Lincoln

“I can’t stress enough how much confidence I gained in geology by going on this trip,” says Jen Swindlehurst.  “Geologists need to be able to identify rocks, landforms, and structures in the field.  I am that much closer to [my goal of becoming a field geologist] with each field experience the geological sciences department at Albion College offers me.”

“Being in the field working with the professors really helped me soak up all the material we learned in class,” says junior Steve Anderson.  “It was tough to sacrifice my whole spring break to spend nine days in Hawaii but somebody had to do it.”

Billy Howland, Jen Swindlehurst and Lauren Nelson

examine recently formed lava, a pahoehoe flow in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.    Photo by Tim Lincoln

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