Humuhumuhi'ukole Pinktail Triggerfish Melichthys vidua

The Humuhumuhi'ukole is a member of the Triggerfish family, and a relative of Hawaii's state fish, the Humuhumunukunukuapua'a. Locally known to Hawaii fisherman as, "hagi", Humuhumu are good to eat, but cleaning them requires special technique. Because of the difficulty of cleaning, many fisherman throw them back when caught. Take some time to learn how to clean hagi, and you will be surprised how good they taste!

Photo: Warren Costa

Today's Catch

Introducing Michael Mancini

"Hey Warren, you ever been 'tazed' before"? That's not the usual pre - tour small talk that I am used to, but coming from Michael Mancini, Federal Law Enforcement Officer, Stand Up Comedian, and winner of the title of "World's Funniest Cop", three years in a row, I knew that I was in for a good day. I had the honor of taking Michael and his lovely wife and daughter on a tour of Kilauea Volcano recently and we had a great time exploring and and learning about the volcano. Here is a link to Michaels website http://www.makeulaff.com/

Check it out, he will make you laugh!

Kalapana Lava Flow Saturday, July 17, 2010

Aloha Everybody! This past Saturday, my family and I woke early in the a.m. to go out to view the lava flow near to Kalapana. We got there before the sun came up and were surprised to see a fast moving, surface flow crossing Highway 130. This was certainly one of the fastest moving flows I have seen in some time. The image above is of a lobe of inflated pahoehoe lava oozing through an old fence. The dark lava beneath the glowing lobe is from the 1990's.

Photo: Warren Costa

Gas Plume at Kilauea Volcano

Here is an image taken near the summit of Kilauea Volcano. The view is looking South, on Highway 11, near to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The big, white cloud in the middle of the image is the gas plume coming from Halemaumau crater, located within the caldera of Kilauea. I modified the image to accentuate the gas plume and the moon.

Photo: Warren Costa

Reflecting on Wailoa Pond

Aloha Everyone, Here is an image that I took in Hilo, at the Wailoa Pond.

Photo: Warren Costa

Hawaiian Volcanoes Observatory Geologist Sampling Lava

Geologists at Hawaiian Volcanoes Obseratory, (HVO), collect samples of lava from active flows to get information on temperature, gas content, and chemical composition of the lava. In this photo, a geologist braves extreme radiant heat to collect a sample from an 'a'a  flow. The photo on the bottom is a thermal image that shows the temperature gradient of the lava. The interior of the flow exceeds 1000 degrees celsius, (1800 degrees fahrenheit).

Photo: Hawaiian Volcanoes Observatory