“Keanae coast” by Martin Mergili, distributed by the European Geosciences Union under a Creative Commons licence
Geologically speaking, Hawaii is a very dynamic archipelago. Each of its islands is an exposed peak of a large undersea mountain range formed by volcanic activity starting about 28 million years ago as the Pacific plate moved slowly in northwest direction over a geological hotspot in the Earth’s mantle. Big Island and Maui, the southeastern most islands, are therefore the youngest and geologically most active of the archipelago.
Martin Mergili (BOKU University in Vienna, Austria), the author of today’s stunning photo, says of these two islands: “Whilst Big Island, the main island of the Hawaiian archipelago, is growing through lava flows into the sea, in Maui the waves are slowly eroding the coast. There is still volcanic activity on East Maui which, therefore, maintains its appearance of a shield volcano. However, in a few million of years it will have been reshaped by erosion and rather resemble today’s island of Kauai.”
This photo is a prime example of Hawaiian natural beauty. The lush green vegetation, the dark volcanic rocks and the white and blue of the rough ocean combine to create a colourful yet somber print. “The picture shows the shoreline of the Keanae Peninsula which is part of the rugged, windward northeast coast of Maui. Here, ancient lava flows from the Haleakala volcano (which is visible in the background) meet the roaring Pacific Ocean,” Martin says.
He took this dramatic photograph in Maui in August 2010 during a holiday journey – “as far as a geoscientist can spend real holidays on Hawaiian islands”, he jokes. More of Martin’s pictures of beautiful Hawaiian landscapes can be found at www.mergili.at/worldimages.
Imaggeo is the EGU’s online open access geosciences image repository. All geoscientists (and others) can submit their images to this repository and since it is open access, these photos can be used by scientists for their presentations or publications as well as by the press and public for educational purposes and otherwise. If you submit your images to Imaggeo, you retain full rights of use, since they are licensed and distributed by the EGU under a Creative Commons licence.
