Talk Story with Volcano Expert Ken Hon

As the scientist-in-charge at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory on Hawai‘i Island, Ken Hon has a much more exciting job than most of us. After all, he’s working on an island with two of the most active volcanoes in the world: Kīlauea and Mauna Loa. Hon, who grew up in Colorado, first moved to Hawai‘i Island in 1984, a year after Kīlauea began its longest major eruption in modern history. (It lasted until 2018.)

During that eruption, in 1990,  he witnessed the destruction of the coastal town of Kalapana, which sparked his interest in volcanic hazards and risk mitigation. He left Hawai‘i soon after—but he couldn’t stay away for long. Hon, who has a doctorate from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a focus on petrologic studies and geologic mapping of the internal structure of large ash-flow calderas, returned to the island with his wife—and fellow volcanologist—Cheryl Ganescki, in 1996. He worked as a professor in the geology department at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, teaching courses in volcanology and geology and taking students to see the lava in nearby Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

“Taking people to see lava for the first time is a great experience,” says Hon, who has two kids, one who’s studying planetary geology and the other neuropsychology. “It’s something so profound, something they’ve never seen in their lives, and it has an effect on them. I really love what I do and I’m really fortunate I can follow my own interest and learn about this amazing process in such a beautiful place with such beautiful people.”  

Where did your interest in geology come from?  

As a kid, I collected rocks—to the point where my mom decided I should have my own little rock garden outside because I was dragging too many dirty rocks into the house.  

When did you first study volcanoes?  

After I had graduated [with a geology degree], I went to work for a mineral exploration company. That’s when I started looking at volcanic rocks. … I studied old volcanoes in Yellowstone National Park. They’re about 20 million years old and eroded, and you can see 2 miles into the volcano. I found that to be really fun and interesting. By that point, I was working part time with the U.S. Geological Survey and studying wilderness areas, looking at mineral sources and mapping rocks. I was working with this guy who came into my office and said, “Hey, you wanna go to Hawai‘i?” I thought about it for two seconds and said yes. [Laughs] I could go study an active volcano? Sure, I’ll go do that!  

Lava fountain at Puʻuʻōʻō, June 1986.
Photo: Courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey

What was your first impression of Hawai‘i’s volcanoes?  

It was kind of amazing. It was intimidating, too. Hawai‘i has got the most studied volcanoes in the world. This was 1987, and I didn’t know what I was going to do because I thought everybody knows everything. But after awhile, you look around and start seeing things, seeing what’s happening, and it turned out there were lots of things people hadn’t studied yet.  

How did the experience of seeing the coastal town of Kalapana destroyed, affect you?  

It started a lifelong interest in volcanic hazards. It was a very profound experience. When something like that happens, you feel responsible for it, even though there was no way to stop it. It took me awhile to come to grips with that.  

What does the scientist-in-charge at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory do?  

My job is to make sure the people I work with at HVO have interesting days. I’m here to provide the general direction and decision making about what we should be doing at HVO and our priorities. I make sure all of my folks have the resources to get their jobs done … [Our priority is] to make sure we keep the community informed. The second is to better understand the volcanoes. Every time there’s an eruption, it’s an opportunity to see how the volcanoes behave and try to get a better understanding of them.  

The 2022 eruption of Mauna Loa could be seen along overlooks from Crater Rim Drive in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.
Photo: Courtesy of the National Park Service/Janice Wei

What’s an experience with Hawai‘i volcanoes that you’ll never forget?  

I’ve seen some pretty big eruptions, including the 2018 [Kīlauea] eruption. But Mauna Loa was incredible. On the first night of the eruption, I was in Kona and I came out of the hotel and the glow was just incredible, lighting up the sky like a giant lighthouse. A big, orange light was reflecting off the clouds. It was really impressive. During that eruption, I would get up in the morning and everybody all over [Hawai‘i Island] could see it. We were all looking at it, and I thought that was amazing.  

This interview was edited for length and clarity.

This story was originally published in our Winter 2024 issue. Buy a copy here.