A Hawaiian Experience - Fieldtrip to the Big Island of Hawaii
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Transcript of A Hawaiian Experience - Fieldtrip to the Big Island of Hawaii
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The Island of Hawaii - an uncommon fieldtrip
(c) Stefan Thiesen, 1994Introduction............................................................................11) The Trip..............................................................................22) Origin of the Hawaiian Islands ..........................................73) Climate and Weather in Hawaii.......................................154) Hawaiis Biological Heritage ...........................................195) Astronomy and Space Science in Hawaii.........................25Literature:............................................................................32
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Introduction
The big island of Hawaii is among the places on
Earth with the best conditions for scientific research in
practically all major sciences, ranging from marine over
earth to the space sciences as well as ecology and
conservation biology and many more. The unique geographic
situation of the Hawaiian islands as well as their
natural history and relatively young geological age make
them a profound source for interdisciplinary research.
Geological and geophysical processes similar to those
driving volcanism around the world but also the
biological evolution of species which - due to the
islands isolation - has gone it's own distinct ways can
be easily observed. The Pacific ocean is a vast, still
mostly unexplored area of research by itself and Pele -
the ancient Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes - has provided
us with Mauna Kea, the worlds foremost astronomical
window to space. Hawaii is of course more than just a
collection of intriguing scientific phenomena - the
culture that evolved in the islands is just as unique as
their nature since in present time here is the merging
point of the Americas, Asia and Oceania bringing together
elements of all world cultures.
During this Field trip I had the chance to explore
two of the big Islands most exciting aspects: Volcanoes
National Park with it's vast, almost surrealistic
landscapes shaped by lava flows, craters, cinder cones,
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unique tropical forests and the more and Mauna Kea
observatory, still caught in the excitement about
observing the effects of the Comet Shoemaker Levy 9
impact on Jupiter.
In the following report I will attempt to present a
brief survey of the field of Hawaiian Studies including
some historical and geographical aspects. Our scarce
knowledge about the achievements of the ancient "Kahuna",
the scientists of old Hawaii, will guide me through my
explorations. Since there is a lot of literature about
the islands, and knowledge about geology and ecology is
quite common nowadays, I will concentrate a little more
on some aspects of their history rather than only
summarizing the conclusions of the modern textbooks I
read. This paper is not designed like a traditional field
trip report. Instead I chose to present a cross-section
of my impressions and insights, those gained during the
excursion as well as those I derived from lectures and
textbooks.
1) The Trip
During the time I lived in the State of Hawaii I
only had the chance to explore two islands to some
extend: Oahu, where I have spent most of my time and Maui
where I visited during spring break 1994. This is why I
originally decided to participate in the Hawaiian Field
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Studies course offered by Hawaii Pacific University
which unfortunately didnt take place due to a lack of
interest among the students. Hence I decided to organize
a tour to the Big Island myself and do some independent
studies on my own as part of my external degree program.
I arrived at Hilo airport in the morning of July
25th 1995 and immediately left for Volcanoes Natl. Park
with my rented Jeep. I purchased a one week ticket for
the Park and spent the rest of the morning at the
visitors center, gathering information and watching
movies about recent volcanic activities of Kilauea and
Mauna Loa volcanoes. Later I drove around the Kilauea
caldera on the crater rim drive, exploring sites around
Kilauea and Kilauea Iki craters and exhibitions at the
Hawaiian Volcanoes Observatory and Thomas A. Jaggar
Museum. The crater rim drive was partly closed due to
recent earthquake activity. Some scenic stops included
sulfur banks, steam vents, the rift zone with the 1982
lava flow, Keanakakoi crater and as said before: Kilauea
Iki.
During the following time I drove to the tourist
centers of the Kona coast which gave me the opportunity
to validate the effects of extensive development on the
natural environment. Apparently the culture of the Big
Island still is far more shaped by native Hawaiians than
it is the case on the other large islands, so naturally
the current political tensions involving the legitimate
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Hawaiian Independence Movements represented by the "Ohana
Council" and others are more obvious. Here on Hawaii the
most recent conflict was partly caused by plans of the
State Government to allow extensive real estate
development as well as the building of Golf courses on
sacred ancient Hawaiian grounds. What would you say if
somebody would just go ahead and built Hotels on your
cemeteries? a young Hawaiian asked me. Many of the beach
parks however were closed or occupied by protesting
natives with Hawaiian War Flags displayed at park
entrances. This made it difficult for me to find
campsites where I could spend the night - I was forced
for example to spend my first night at a rather expensive
hotel in Kailua since all official campgrounds were
closed. The situation wasnt as difficult in the Natl.
Park area and on the Hilo side and most Hawaiians
actually were very friendly and peaceful and didnt have
anything against backpackers and campers - their protest
was mainly directed against the government policy and
mass tourism. As soon as they found out that somebody was
really interested in Hawaii they immediately invited them
to stay in Hawaii as long as they wanted to.
Despite the bad weather which was caused by a whole
chain of hurricanes passing by the islands in the South I
spent some time at South Point Hawaii, named Ka Lae in
Hawaiian, simply meaning the point which is the
southernmost point of the US. South Point has coastal
cliffs and a very turbulent ocean, and it was here where
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some of the first Polynesians landing in Hawaii settled
down. Most of the area now is under the jurisdiction of
Hawaiian Homelands. Sites of archeological interest can
be found here, including those of a heiau and a rather
well-preserved fishing shrine. There also are many canoe
mooring holes drilled into the rock ledges. Ancient
Hawaiians used to anchor one end of a rope through the
holes and tie the other end to their canoes, so the
strong current would pull the boat straight out to the
deep, turbulent waters where they could take advantage of
the splendid fishing grounds without being swept out to
the sea.
A surprising feature nearby is the unexpected
scenery of a modern wind park: 37 high-tech windmills
lined up beside the road, cattle peacefully grazing under
them. It is a rather surreal scenery. Each of these
generators however can produce enough electricity to
serve 100 households and it was calculated that the
entire electricity demand of the complete state could be
served - at least in theory - by wind energy conversion.
It is truly intriguing to observe the change of
landscape and climate along the road from Kona to Hilo,
the street leading the traveler through completely
different zones ranging from tropical rain forests to
arid volcanic deserts. There are several reasons for this
natural diversity, some due to differences in altitude,
others as a result of lacking precipitation on the
leeward side as well as ongoing volcanic processes. I am
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doing some extensive hikes to get an impression of the
landscape and nature beyond the road, exploring ancient
petroglyphs and burial sites, the biggest impression
being quietness and solitude in a seemingly untouched
nature, especially in Kau desert and along the southern
slope of Mauna Loa.
Together with Fred Conroy, a retired navy nuclear
technician whom I had met at Namakani Paio Campground in
Volcanoes Natl. Park , I spent some more time at the
Park, attending lectures at the visitors center and
driving down the Chain-of-Craters road to the current
eruption site of one of the minor breakouts of Kilauea
down by the ocean, where new land is formed. Fred was
looking for a house to buy in Hilo, which gave me the
chance to get to know Hilo and some of its inhabitants a
little better than I would have otherwise.
The last item on my itinerary was Mauna Kea with
its unearthly volcanic landscape, intriguing
archeological sites and of course the observatory. A
unique Hawaiian mystery awaits the curious visitor in the
summit region of Mauna Kea: about half an hour from the
summit road, walking and climbing over volcanic rock in
the thin air, one finds lake Waiau, right there in the
center of a cinder cone at an altitude of 13,020 feet
(which makes it the third highest lake in the USA). The
lake is mysterious for several reasons. How can a lake
exist in the center of a porous cinder cone in desert-
like conditions with less than 15 inches annual rainfall?
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It is fed by melting winter snow and permafrost which
quickly evaporate at other locations on Mauna Kea and
although the lake doesnt have any freshwater springs, is
no more than 10 feet deep and even feeds a little creek,
it somehow maintains its water level. Up to now
geologists were unable to solve this mystery. For the old
Hawaiians however, there was no mystery at all: for them
it is a lake of the gods.
The freshwater reservoir probably also was the
reason why there were early settlers on Mauna Kea in
ancient times, mostly people who worked in the stone
quarries found everywhere around the summit area.
Native Hawaiians used to bring the umbilical cords
of their babies and throw them into the lake, hoping the
children would gain the power and strength of the
mountain...
2) Origin of the Hawaiian Islands
From the geological point of view, the Hawaiian
Islands are considered to be young, the big island being
the youngest member of a still growing family of
islands. Here nature was so kind to give us easy access
to the complete natural history of tropical volcanic
islands, ready to be examined and analyzed by scientists.
In the case of for example the French Frigate Shoals,
Necker Island or the Midway Islands far in the northwest
of the chain, we find small atolls - remedies of formerly
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much larger volcanic landmasses - in their very latest
state of development, whereas in the southeast we can
observe "islands in the making", the big island still
growing due to the activity mainly of Kilauea volcano.
Beside the existing landmasses there is Loihi Seamount,
an active submarine volcano in it's shield building
stage, already rising approximately 4000 meters above the
floor of the Pacific Ocean. Here it is interesting to
review the knowledge the native Hawaiians themselves had
about natural history and origin of their homeland, their
"aina" which approximately means "the living land". Those
carrying and passing on the secret scientific knowledge
were called the "Kahuna" who were far more than just
mystic priests of a religious order. Actually they had
more in common with the modern western scientist,
mastering their profession only after more than two
decades of studies and training in a strict scientific
discipline. They were the trained professionals of their
time in the fields of medicine, agriculture,
architecture, education and the sciences, responsible for
conserving natural resources as well as passing on and
advancing knowledge with all means accessible to them.
Usually the members of the Kahuna were recruited among
the children of the ali'i, the ruling class of old
Hawaii. However children of exceptional ability from the
commoners, the lower ranks of society were accepted also.
The main criterions were intelligence, interest and
willingness to learn and study hard. A short survey of
their history and customs is given in L.. McBride's book
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"The Kahuna", which I refer to below. I will concentrate
on some of the actual knowledge of the Kahuna and compare
it to modern day scientific research results.
There was one order of the Kahuna that specialized
on "Earth Studies" (kilohonua) and another group of
experts was learned about the configuration of the
landscapes, both being the ancient pendants of modern
Geologists and Geographers. The greatest of these learned
specialists were supposed to be able to identify any rock
specimen from any district on the island of Hawaii as
well as the place it was cropped out. Density, color and
usability were the parameters applied for rock
classification, and there were about two dozens of
different types in the three categories that could be
identified by these experts. Even nowadays scientists all
over the world use the Hawaiian termspahoehoe and a'a to
distinguish between smooth and rough lava flows.
Similar to the practices elsewhere around the world,
much of what the Kahuna knew was passed on to their
students by means of poems and mystical stories about
ancient gods and heroes, and the mental abilities
required in oral traditions often dramatically exceed
those in societies that use writing for information
storage. In the case of geology and the earth sciences
the main protagonist of these living stories was Pele,
the goddess of volcanoes, earth and fire. These Tales
show us that the Kahuna had advanced far beyond the realm
of common sense and every day knowledge. One of the most
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striking examples is the mystical story about the
creation of the islands by Pele. The legends tell that
Pele arrived at the unknown islands far in the northwest
and proceeded along the island chain finally settling on
the Big Island, where she found perfect conditions to
stay. This story corresponds surprisingly well with the
view of modern geologists regarding the relative age and
origin of the islands, but the analogies go even further.
An ancient chant says:
She comes first to the top of the mountain
Young and beautiful, dancing in all her glory
Then she sleeps, becomes old and ugly
Moves through the hidden ways of the mountain
To come out near the seashore
Angry and capable of great destruction
This is a type of cyclic volcano behavior that has been
observed again and again by scientists: melted rock rises
from 35 Miles below and fills a huge reservoir just
beneath the summit of the volcano, splitting the top of
the mountain as soon as the pressure exceeds stability
limits. Spurts of lava shoot into the air like beautiful
gigantic fireworks. After the summit eruption the
mountain behaves calmly, sealing itself off on the top.
The lava then invisibly seeks it's way downward the
slopes through cracks and old lava tubes towards the sea
and breaks out wherever the system is weakest, usually
near the shore or even underwater as I could observe
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myself at the end of the chain of craters road during my
visit to Volcanoes Natl. Park. Interesting is also that
the legend tells us that after a fight between Pele and
her mortal husband Kamapua'a they divided the land of
Hawaii between them, Pele claiming the parts south of
Mauna Kea (the Mauna Loa and Kilauea region) whereas the
remainder of the island chain was given to Kamapua'a and
the mortal humans. This too corresponds with our current
knowledge: Mauna Loa and Kilauea are active volcanoes and
the remaining area to the north-west is comprised of
dormant volcanic structures such as Mauna Kea, Haleakala
on Maui and others. Bearing in mind the existence of
Loihi, the following is an intriguing prediction Pele
gave to Kamapua'a:
Someday I will build for you a new island
Another land in Hawaii
And there we will live together
Forever in Harmony...
While the Kahuna Knowledge regarding temporal order of
events during the creation of Hawaii can be explained by
their thorough exploration and observation of nature
(they new about erosion and were aware of the process of
volcanic land formation), it is hard to imagine how they
could have had any knowledge whatsoever about the
existence of submarine volcanic activity south east of
Hawaii. It is thought to be a coincidence but I prefer to
think that a brave Kahuna made what nowadays would be
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called an "educated guess". Another chant also displays
how far advanced the Kahuna's understanding of natural
processes was. They may have been the only ones in
ancient time who knew about the connection between tidal
waves and volcanoes and earth quakes and in distant
places. Somehow they figured out or guessed that Tsunamis
in Hawaii originated in places far away and had their
origin in volcanic type events:
In far Kahiki1
Pele stamps the long wave
The high wave
The broad wave
The wave that dashes the shore
Of Hamakua
And of Hilo - And overturns the land...
It is of course true that modern Geology knows more
about the Hawaiian Islands than the Kahuna new. We know
the chemical composition of rocks, measure the movements
of volcanoes and landmasses as well as seismic events and
the exact temperature of lava and many other parameters.
We know that the islands were formed as the result of a
volcanic "hot-spot" transferring heat from the earth's
interior to the upper crust and that the Pacific plate
slowly moves over the spot so that instead of a single
large island an island chain is formed. We don't know for
1 Kahiki originally is thought to be the name for Tahiti, or even forJava according to different sources. Later it became the generalword for "far abroad".
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sure however, how this hot spot came into existence. Is
it the result of a meteor penetrating the earths crust
in a catastrophic event? Until now this question remains
unanswered.
If we take into account that we have the means of
satellite remote sensing, deep drilling, submarine
vessels, high precision chemical and physical analyzing
methods and more at our hands, whereas the Kahuna only
had the techniques accessible to a stone age society, we
cannot appreciate their achievements high enough.
It is believed that most of the land area nowadays
comprising Volcanoes Natl. Park possibly will be subject
to a catastrophic land-slide in the future. It is proven
that several similar events took place in the islands in
the past. Some of the steepest cliffs - such as those on
the Windward coast of Kohala on Hawaii or the Nuuanu-Pali
on Oahu have been formed through this process. Extensive
geologic undersea mapping around Hawaii revealed that
complete sectors of all volcanoes, including Mauna Loa
and Kilauea, have been lost after frequent landslides
which is the second reason for landloss in Hawaii -
besides ordinary erosion. These repeated processes:
eruptions, subsidence, landslides and erosion together
are responsible for the formation of the distinctive
Hawaiian landscape. The big island is actually built of
five different volcanoes, Kohala being the northernmost
and oldest one. Kohalas rainy northeast flank has been
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eroded into steep cliffs and fantastic canyons, south of
Kohala we find Mauna Kea which - as I mentioned before -
is thought to be dormant. Its last eruption occurred
long before humans settled in Hawaii, approximately 4000
years ago. The summit of Mauna Kea is covered with snow
during winter time, and during the last ice age even a
glacier formed at an altitude of more than 4000 meters -
its terminal moraines are still visible today. Hualalai
volcano dominates the western part of the island which
the last time erupted in 1801. Mauna Loa and Kilauea are
considered to be the most active volcanoes in the world,
which was one of the reasons to establish volcanoes natl.
Park through a division of the original Hawaii Natl.
Park, the other part now being Haleakala Natl. Park on
Maui.
Volcanic activity is different around the world and
so is the chemical and physical composition of the
erupted material, namely lava and subterranean gases. The
most abundant oxide in lava is silica (between 40 and
75%). As the fraction of silica increases, the fraction
of the alkalis increases too (potash and soda), and as it
decreases, the percentage of iron oxide, magnesia and
lime rises. This can be observed in Hawaii where the lava
mostly is near the lower end of the silica scale while
being rich in iron, magnesia and lime. Most of the
islands landmass consists of basaltic rock and most of
the lava extruded by the active volcanoes in the Natl.
Park is olivine basalt.
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Average chemical composition of Lava:
Oxide Symbol Percentages
Hawaii Mt.St.Helens
___________________________________________________
Silicon SiO2 48.4 63.5
Aluminum Al2O3 13.2 17.6
Iron FeO 11.2 4.2
Magnesium MgO 9.7 2.0
Calcium CaO 10.3 5.2
Sodium Na2O 2.4 4.6
Potassium K2O 0.6 1.3
Titanium TiO2 2.8 0.6Other 1.4 1.0
___________________________________________________
The above table shows a comparison of lava composition at volcanoes
in Hawaii and Mt. St. Helens in weight percent (source: Hawaii
Natural History Association).
The absolute and relative abundance of oxides is
only one parameter that is used to characterize lava
types. Others are viscosity, temperature and the amount
of gaseous substances in the lava, the latter two greatly
influencing the first. All this is described in great
detail in Macdonalds, Abbotts and Petersons splendid
book Volcanoes in the Sea - the Geology of Hawaii as
well as in the field guides available at Volcanoes Natl.
Park.
3) Climate and Weather in Hawaii
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Frequently rumors occur that the Hawaiians never
developed a word for "weather" since it is nice and
beautiful anytime anyway. It is obvious that whoever
invented this rumor never actually visited the islands
for their weather system is comprised out of a great
variety of micro climates and also seasonal and daily
changes. This must have been so in ancient times too
since there was a Kahuna order devoting their lives to
the science of "Meteorology", called nanauli. On the top
of the hill named "Halekamahina" (house of the moon) was
their residence, maybe the oldest known weather station
conducting systematic synoptic meteorology whatsoever.
From what we know, their knowledge of the art of weather
forecasting was about as far advanced as our knowledge
was before the introduction of satellites and high speed
computers enabling us to use complex numerical modelling
- a technique not more than 30 years old!
The Kahuna had names to describe each change of the
wind, denoting it's strength, direction and temperature.
They also had a system naming every type of rain taking
into account the amount of relative precipitation,
direction and duration. Once more thorough observation of
natural phenomena such as cloud morphology, wind speed
and direction, waves, visibility, the twinkling of the
stars, the color of the sunset etc. allowed the Kahuna to
draw correct conclusions and apply them to every day
tasks.
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It seems that the Kahuna generally were not so much
concerned with the question "Why is this or that?". Their
main goal was to gain knowledge for the purpose of
practical application. Since Hawaii is fairly isolated
knowledge transfer from other regions and cultures was
limited, so the Kahuna didn't have the chance to "stand
on the shoulders of giants" during their scientific
pursuits. When Hadley for example developed his first
simple model of global atmospheric circulation, he had
the advantage to have the resources of European
universities at his hands - compiled knowledge of
thousands of years of research and academic work from
around the world, an advantage no Kahuna ever had,
especially since to our knowledge the Hawaiians never
developed any writing at all beyond petroglyphs. When
analyzing the factors that drive the Hawaiian weather
system, we need to apply a more global perspective than
the Kahuna were capable to imagine.
There are two factors that are responsible for most
of the weather phenomena in Hawaii: the north-east trade
winds and the local relief of the islands. Hawaii is
situated just north of the intertropical convergence zone
(ITCZ), so the climate is subtropical and fairly well
described by the idealized Hadley circulation model. The
trade winds are carrying air of high humidity from the
north so that due to the high rising volcanic mountains
and mountain chains all of the large islands can be
clearly divided into a leeward zone of low and a windward
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zone of high precipitation. The effects are so extreme
that Hilo is "Americas rainiest city" (up to 300 inches
annual rainfall) whereas less than a two hour drive away
a desert like landscape can be found, beginning just a
couple of miles beyond Volcano village. The differences
between the micro climates are extreme on the Big Island
due to the windward/leeward effect but also due to
drastic altitude changes. The extremes during my visit
were a temperature of above 40C in Ka'u desert, high
precipitation in Hilo and dry weather with frosty
temperatures on the summit of Mauna Kea. The lack of
rainfall and almost perfect weather is the reason why the
leeward Kona coast of the Big Island is the preferred
tourist spot and subject to rampant real estate
development. However - without the high rising mountains
intercepting the clouds of the trade winds and so being
responsible for the "bad weather", the south-western
Hawaiian islands would be as barren and hostile as the
flat atolls in the north-west, and there simply wouldn't
be enough water in Hawaii to support a large human
population. This is a good example for the influence of
physical geographic factors on human settlement: although
the dry and sunny leeward areas of the islands, be it
Oahu, Maui or Hawaii bring the tourism industry to the
island state (in itself a double edged sword), this
wouldn't be possible without the windward weather zones.
Hawaii's setting in the Pacific ocean and close
proximity to the inner tropical convergence zone are the
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reason for the fact that two other climatic phenomena
have large impact on the local weather system: the
occurrence of Hurricanes and the El Nio Southern
Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon, the latter being closely
connected to the atmospheric/oceanic circulation system
of the Pacific. El Nio is also thought to be an
indicator for the effects of antropogenic climate change.
In 1994 it probably was responsible for the formation of
the numerous hurricanes north of the convergence zone as
well as almost three months of rainstorms in a row during
winter and spring 1994 in Hawaii that caused considerable
damage. Because of Hurricanes and the repeated danger of
flash-floods, an extended warning system, shelters and
evacuation plans were developed to help insure the
security of locals as well as visitors.
4) Hawaiis Biological Heritage
I will begin this chapter citing Charles Darwin himself:
"The archipelago is a little world within itself, or
rather a satellite attached to America, whence it has
derived a few stray colonists, and has received the
general character of it's indigenous productions.
Considering the small size of these Islands, we feel the
more astonished at the number of their aboriginal beings,
and their confined range. Seeing every height crowned
with it's crater, and the boundaries of most lava-streams
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still distinct, we are led to believe that within a
period geologically recent the unbroken ocean was here
spread out. Hence both in space and time, we seem to be
brought somewhat near to the great fact--that mystery of
mysteries--the first appearance of new beings on earth."
These words of Darwin describing his impressions of
the Galapagos islands almost sound like a religious
experience. Hawaii certainly is no geographic Satellite
of America, but otherwise the same words could have been
told about Hawaii. Isolated islands proved to be crucial
for modern evolutionary biology, and continuing
evolutionary studies largely depend on the survival of a
meaningful sample of endemic island flora and fauna. The
ancient Kahuna however were not very much concerned with
the survival of species and studies of evolutionary
processes - it was their duty to put nature to the use of
man and their admiration and adoration of their natural
environment might have had quite pragmatic roots. As
other Polynesians the old Hawaiians had a highly
developed agriculture and may also have been the first to
introduce the systematic science of botany, including a
detailed plant taxonomy. The classification system
consisted of groups and sub-groups allowing the
identification and description of certain plants. The use
of a general name such as a'e, pilo, hapu, kokio, or
ohia had the purpose to associate those plants sharing
certain characteristics. Then the plant was given an
additional name to further specify the type of bloom,
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form of leaves or some other trait and in some cases yet
another name was used to still further distinguish plants
from another. I found the following example of Kahuna
plant taxonomy in McBride's book "The Kahuna":
"For example, using Ohia as the general name, lehua
was added to describe the feathery nature of the bloom.
In addition the color of the blossom is described or
another trait included to name the tree exactly.
Ohia lehua apane Red bloomed ohia
Ohia lehua polena Yellow blossomed ohia
Ohia lehua puakea White blossomed ohia
Ohia lehua ai Ohia with edible fruit
Ohia ha Ohia with tiny edible fruit
Ohia maka noe A Kauai shrub
Ohia lehua haole Foreign Ohia"
Even today many problems in Hawaiian plant taxonomy
remain to be solved. Among the local flora there are many
complex and only poorly understood groups and species
that require further field and laboratory study. Although
a large number of specimen has been collected, there
definitely hasn't been enough study of natural
populations in the field. A big problem is that a large
number of studies were based on dried herbarium specimens
only and few attempts have been made to find correlations
between the results of biosystematic laboratory study and
field observations. Therefore, taxonomic entities such as
species or varieties were often described with poor
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biological understanding of the plant, solely based upon
one or a handful of specimens only.
One order of Kahuna were expert farmers (Kahuna
hoouluai) with highly specialized knowledge about the art
of agriculture, horticulture and the use and plantation
of numerous herbs (the latter together with the Kahuna
la'au lapa'au, the pharmacologist and general
practitioner of his time). According to legend Kahuna
medicine, pharmacology and herbology were developed to a
stage enabling the doctors to even treat some of the
worst maladies, including cancer.
Little is known nowadays about the agricultural
tricks of old Hawaii, however, we have some knowledge
about the results. It was reported that when Captain Cook
discovered the islands in 1779, there were 70 different
types of bananas, 24 kinds of sweet potatoes and hundreds
of varieties of kalo or Taro, which probably was the most
important of all Hawaiian crops. The entire plant can be
used for human nutrition, and based on an estimate of the
botanist Dr. Otto Degener, as little as one square mile
of intensively cultivated Taro fields would be necessary
to continuously feed as mmany as 15,000 people.
It is not known whether or not the Kahuna had a
systematic knowledge of what nowadays is conservation
biology. From old chants we get the impression that they
were aware of the fact that the damage to nature is
inevitably followed by damage to man. One consequence of
this knowledge was a number of Kapu, or "dos and don'ts"
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restricting the tempering with the environment. The
"aloha aina" may have been a central theme throughout
Hawaiian history, although the term itself originates in
the political movements of more recent times.
Modern conservation biology is concerned with a much
greater variety of problems than the Kahuna had in mind.
Hawaii is no longer an almost completely isolated island
chain virtually in the middle of nowhere, but a modern
country, one of the Earths largest military bases and
one of the worlds most preferred tourist spots, all
putting tremendous strains onto local environment and
culture.
The following words of Danielle and Charles Stone
are suited well for the purpose of expressing the scope
of modern conservational biology in Hawaii and elsewhere.
"Conservation biology is the combination of art and
science, compromise and stubbornness, judgment and
serendipity necessary to perpetuate some semblance of
natural biological diversity on Planet Earth. Concern for
natural areas and native plants and animals is not just
something that is "nice" to do if all else is taken care
of. Nor is it an exercise in futility. The global loss of
biota is approaching a crisis - one more severe than the
widespread extinction of dinosaurs or even the loss of
most life of the seas in the distant past. It is a crisis
that may be irreversible this time, because plants are
being widely affected and because the stock for future
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evolution of life on Earth is being severely depleted.
And this time, the cause is humans - our numbers,
aspirations and decisions.
Human populations depend on other life forms more
than most of us realize - for food, medicine, and
economic well-being; for "ecological services" including
oxygen, climatic effects, cleansing and sanitation; and
for aesthetic satisfaction. All of this is ultimately
related to the perpetuation as well as the quality of
human life, no matter how much we may take it for
granted. It has been said that we need fewer "ego-
logical" and more ecological decisions - ironically, for
our own good!
Hawaii is on the leading edge of species loss
curves. (...) Extinction and endangerment have
accompanied uniqueness and endemism at dramatically
increased rates since humans arrived; (...)
Hawai'i is also a world leader in studies of
evolution and biological invasions, two contradictory
processes - with the deck stacked heavily in favor of the
invaders. Alien or introduced plants and animals from
other parts of world stifle the exuberance of the natural
creative process of evolution and lead the rush to
"deadly dullness". Much of Hawaiis lowland landscape
looks like many other areas of the world because rooted,
crawling, running and flying "weeds" prevail - species
that are really out of place in Hawai'i, no matter how
much people may appreciate them. (...)"
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I chose to adapt these words from the preface of the
book "Conservational Biology in Hawaii" since I don't
think I could express it better. I can only add that the
whole variety of Hawaiian nature is at stake, endangered
not only by accidentally introduced alien species but
also by deliberate economical, developmental and large
scale agricultural activities ranging from huge cattle
ranches and pineapple plantations (namely Parker and
Dole) over enormous touristic developments (Waikiki and
Kona) to the omnipresent facilities of the worlds
largest military machinery all over Hawaii. Hawaii still
has the chance to become a role model for the world and
show others how to deal effectively with severe
ecological and cultural problems - it may also become a
nightmare, an example for what is yet to come on a global
scale.
5) Astronomy and Space Science in Hawaii
Hawaii is leading in oceanography thanks to the
Pacific, in biology thanks to the unique environment, in
geology and volcanology thanks to the "hot-spot"
underneath the seafloor, and Hawaii is a world leader in
astronomy mainly thanks to Mauna Kea and Haleakala and
their splendid observation conditions. Mauna Kea is
considered to be the worlds best observational site for
a number of reasons, the most obvious of which is it's
altitude of 4200m enabling the observatory domes in the
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summit area to remain far above the humid trade winds and
their clouds most of the time. Besides this, the
geographic setting in the middle of the ocean is
responsible for a smooth, laminar airflow almost
completely lacking turbulent disturbances and thus
enormously reducing the effects of "seeing" during
observations. Another welcomed fact is that since Mauna
Kea is a dormant shield volcano with quite gentle slopes,
it is not to difficult to get access to the summit, which
is an important economical locational factor during the
evaluation phase of a prospective observatory site. If
modern engineers would have to design the theoretically
perfect observational site, it certainly would closely
resemble Mauna Kea - what wonder that the ancient Kahuna
also were experts in astronomy (although they had no
observatory on the summit). Nowadays astronomy is one of
the fundamental research disciplines with little apparent
connection to every day life and only few direct
"earthly" applications, at least none that have anything
to do with deep space and planetary observations as
conducted at modern observatories. During the times of
the Kahuna there was a completely different situation:
astronomy mainly was astrometry, was the precise
measurement of positions of celestial bodies. High skills
had to be developed to become perfect in this difficult
task having only stone age means at hand. The precise
knowledge of the star positions and their change during
the year was essential for safely navigating the Hawaiian
seafarers over the oceans and allow them to cross the
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vast abyss of the Pacific, regularly reaching
destinations as distant as Tahiti, Samoa and possibly
even South East Asia. The following again is largely
taken from L.R. McBride, The Kahuna.
Our knowledge about the astronomer Kahuna (kilo
hoku) again comes mainly from ancient chants, one of
which reads like this:
Innumerable are the stars
The large stars
The small stars
The red stars of Kane, O infinite space
The great moon of Kane
The great sun of Kane
Moving, floating
Set moving about in the great space of Kane
The great earth of Kane
The rain encircled earth of Kane
The earth that Kane set in motion
Moving are the stars, moving is the moon
Moving is the great earth of Kane
Today only few stars and formations still can be
named by their traditional Hawaiian names. Of the several
thousand stars that can be seen from Hawaii only the
names of approximately 120 have been preserved. Gemini
for example was called Kamahana (The Twins), the Big
Dipper's name was Na Hiku (The seven) and the Pleiades
were known asMakali'i (Little Eyes). Only few of the
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Hawaiian constellations were identical with their western
pendants. They actually more closely resemble the
asterisms, smaller groups such as the Hyades cluster in
the Head of Taurus (Kanuku o Kapuahi), the "belt and
sword" of Orion (Na-Kao), and most likely Lyra and Vega
together were baptized Keoe.
The Kahuna astronomers had reached approximately the
same standard as their European colleges prior to
Galileos invention of the telescope, with exception of
the mathematical abilities for which they substituted a
fabulous memory. The oldest known astronomical
observatory in Hawaii is situated on the saddle between
Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea (although its exact function
remains a mystery) and another one on the eastern point
of Hawaii. The latter was called Ha'eha'e, "where the
great stones caught the sun". The Hawaiians of old were
able to "calculate" the equinox without the means of
actual calculation at hand. It was known to them that the
ecliptic (heleakala) changes slowly throughout the year
and so the sun constantly rises at a different point of
the horizon, oscillating between the two extremes. Once
the solstices were fixed, the equinox could easily be
measured halfway between them. This way the nineteen year
cycle of 235 lunar months was determined, which
harmonizes lunar an solar year.
The Kahuna learned to utilize the cycle of 223 lunar
months to predict eclipses. These days there of course
still was a close relation between astronomy and
astrology, the chiefs and people of Hawaii expecting the
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Kahuna to predict future events from celestial phenomena.
There is no doubt however that the most skilled
astronomers were the navigators, who had to virtually
become human computers to master their task. By the time
a Kahuna Navigator completed his long years of study, he
had to be capable of recalling at any time the setting
and rising points of at least 120 stars as they changed
throughout the year. They also learned the directions of
foreign lands from stone alignments as well as the seas,
weather and winds found along the way. I think it was
Niels Bohr who once had said to Einstein: A dog will
never be able to learn Newton's laws!" and the great man
answered: Well, well, I think he knows them very well!
Have you never seen a dog catch a ball?" Just like a a
dog or a child learns to apply Newton's laws without ever
knowing the mathematics behind them, the Kahuna had
managed to master precise measurement, experience and
intuition and merge them into an incredibly complex
system of highly complex sciences.
Modern astronomy is dominated by computer systems,
electronically operated ground based and space telescopes
and complex mathematics. Astronomy is a high tech science
and some of it's current masterpieces and brightest minds
can be found in Hawaii. The astronomy programs and
facilities in Hawaii are under the supervision of the
Institute for Astronomy of the University of Hawaii at
Manoa on Oahu. The first realized observatory was the
Mees Solar Observatory on Haleakala/Maui in 1963,
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followed by the UH 2.2m telescope on Mauna Kea in 1970.
During the 1970s three additional large instruments were
built on it's summit: the 3-meter NASA Infrared Telescope
Facility (IRTF), the 3.6m Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope
(CFHT) and the 3.8m United Kingdom Infrared Telescope
(UKIRT). In 1993 the largest Telescope that was built up
to date became operational at the W. M. Keck Observatory:
the 10m Keck I Telescope, it's identical twin being
currently under construction. Also under construction is
the 8m Japan national Large Telescope (JNLT or "Subaru").
All these instruments benefit from the remarkably low
seeing at this site and the unique atmospheric
transparency to infrared wavelengths. By the end of the
century, an unprecedented eleven of the worlds largest
observatories, among them the Gemini Northern 8m
Telescope (a joint venture of the UK, Canada, USA, Chile,
Argentina and Brazil) will be located on Mauna Kea. The
optical and infrared observatories are accompanied by two
sub millimeter telescopes, the 15m James Clerk Maxwell
Telescope (JCTM), run by an international group sponsored
by the UK, the Netherlands and Canada and the 10m Caltech
Sub millimeter Observatory (CSO). Also near the Mauna Kea
summit region is a recently installed 25m VLBI radio
telescope.
On Haleakala the Mees Solar observatory conducts
observations of the sun following a daily schedule. A
variety of detectors mounted on a Sun-tracking spar are
used. Some of the projects currently under way are
coronographic, oscillation and magnetic field studies.
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The LURE lunar laser ranging observatory is also situated
on Haleakala, as will be the 3.7m advanced electrical-
optical system (AEOS) telescope which is currently under
construction by Philips Laboratory. Of particular
interest to astronomers and physicists world wide are the
gamma ray observatory on Haleakala and project DUMAND
(Deep Underwater Muon And Neutrino Detector), a gigantic
telescope for cosmic rays under construction in a deep-
ocean trench off the island of Hawaii.
To reduce disturbances of stray light from
artificial light sources (mainly street lights), there is
a law in effect on Hawaii regulating the type of lights
to be used in public areas. A gas-charge light system is
used, emitting light at a single wavelength in the orange
part of the visible spectrum. The advantage is that a
single line can be easily reduced from the observations.
There also are strict regulations regarding the use of
car-lights above the cloud layer in the Mauna Kea area.
There are many other active local and international,
private and governmental research and educational groups
in astronomy in Hawaii besides the Institute for
Astronomy. Planetary sciences, theoretical and high-
energy astrophysics, stellar astronomy and cosmology -
only to mention a few fields - are examples for the
thriving and blooming research landscape of Hawaii
(recently the Planetary Society tested its
Russian/American Mars Rover in Volcanoes Natl. Park -
following in the footsteps of the Apollo crew testing
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their Moon-Buggies in Moon Valley on Mauna Kea).
Research and education in Hawaii are a mirror image of
the islands' nature and culture. They are highly diverse,
active and in many cases innovative and successful and in
a distinct, almost unrecognizable way, all of it somehow
still seems to be imbued with the "Aloha Spirit" although
one has to look for it with patience and open minded to
still find it these days. Hawaii by no means is a
paradise, but it is a thriving state, almost a country by
itself, where internal problems are settled quite
reasonably and sources of conflict such as racism are
virtually nonexistent so it really can be an example for
other parts of the world.
Literature:
The following literature was used:
Macdonald, Abbott & Peterson: Volcanoes in the Sea, Univ.
of Hawaii Press 1990
Robert and Barbara Decker: Volcano Watching, Hawaii
Natural History Assoc., 1980
Macdonald and Hubbard: Volcanoes of the National Parks in
Hawaii, Hawaii Natl. History Assoc., 1993
L.R. McBride: The Kahuna, Petroglyph Press, 1992
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James Cook: Entdeckungsfahrten im Pazifik, 1768-1779
Charles and Danielle Stone: Conservational Biology in
Hawaii, Univ. of Hawaii Press 1989
Department of Geography: Univ. of Hawaii: Atlas of
Hawaii, Univ. of Hawaii Press, 1983
Martha Beckwith: Hawaiian Mythology, Univ. of Hawaii
Press, 1976
Katharine Luomala: Voices on the Wind, Bishop Museum,
1956
David Lewis: We, the Navigators, Univ. of Hawaii Press
1972
Will Kyselka: An Ocean in Mind, Univ. of Hawaii Press,
1987
Glenda Bendure: Hawaii travel survival kit, LonelyPlanet, 1990
Inst. for Astronomy: Astronomy in Hawaii, Univ. of Hawaii
Inst. for Astronomy, 1994
Various handouts from HPU and newspaper articles from
Hawaiian newspapers