Student Photo Gallery: Hawaii

As the MV Explorer pulled into Hilo, Hawaii, Jessica Mercier from the College of Charleston photographed this scene. “A full moon was out, but it was the sunrise that illuminated the ocean, the city, and the magnificent Mauna Kea,” explains Mercier.

Kailey Sabel from the University of Wisconsin-Madison took this photo of kayakers on the Wailuku River as they paddled through lush vegetation on the way to visit a waterfall.

Kelsey Good, a student in Professor Gary Grigg’s Geological Hazards course, explored the Kilauea Iki crater while on a field lab at Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. Good learned that, “While crossing the crater, heat radiated from the ground and produced steam, evidence that the volcano is still active. Kilauea, a shield volcano, is known as one of the most active volcanoes in the world due to the frequency of its eruptions in recent history.”

Seth Martin from Cornell University photographed Tyler Bittaker from the University of San Diego while the MV Explorer approached Honolulu harbor. After departing from Hilo the night before, the ship spent the day docked with a beautiful view of Hawaii’s capital city before embarking to the next port of Yokohama, Japan.

Allyson Miller from Metropolitan State University of Denver captured a peaceful moment at Richardson’s Beach, a park near the oceanfront in Hilo (left). David Calendario from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayag√ºez photographed Hilo’s 80-foot tall Rainbow Falls which flows over a natural lava cave (right).

Allyson Miller from Metropolitan State University of Denver was drawn to the contrast of tropical trees and brightly colored buildings in downtown Hilo.

Josiah Savig from Colorado State University discovered this chameleon while in a field lab for Professor Tueller’s Iberia and the World course. Savig explains, “Chameleons aren’t actually indigenous to Hawaii. When professor Tueller saw the chameleon, he said that they weren’t supposed to be there. It turns out that chameleons were only brought to the Big Island and aren’t present on any of the other Islands.”

While on a field program Scott Head from Vanderbilt University took this photograph of three of the thirteen telescopes that perch on the summit of Hawaii’s tallest volcano, Mauna Kea. Head discovered that NASA tests their lunar rovers near the summit because the terrain is one of the most similar surfaces we have on Earth to that of the moon.

Student Photo Gallery: Hawaii

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