#Smithsonian Institution

Hawaiian Moment: The Big Island – Hawaiʻi Island or Maui Nui?

Maui Nui or Greater Maui, is a modern geologists’ name given to a prehistoric Hawaiian Island built from seven shield volcanoes. Nui means “great/large” in the Hawaiian language. This concept was first proposed 60 years ago by geologist Harold Stearns, who “recognized the geologic evidence for repeated episodes of island submergence and reemergence,” according to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

UH explores idea of storing animal cells on the Moon in case of disaster

Research out of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) and Smithsonian Institution is exploring an out-of-this-world approach to preserving Earth’s animal species in the event of a global disaster—storing animal cells on the moon.

Volcano Watch — Kīlauea’s colleagues: what other volcanoes are currently erupting on Earth?

Typically, in a given year, 40–50 volcanoes erupt, or a bit less than 10% of the world’s active volcanoes.  Let’s take a look at a few of Kīlauea’s notable contemporaries this year.