Hawaii observatory to be evicted amid federal cuts as volcano shoots 700ft lava

As Hawaii’s most active volcano shot out fountains of lava on Thursday, some of them reaching as high as 700ft, scientists from the US Geological Survey have been posting regular updates on the scale and pace of the eruptions.

But those same scientists, along with their volcano-monitoring equipment, may soon be evicted from their office because of Elon Musk’s federal government cost-cutting, the Honolulu Civil Beat reported.

The Geological Survey office in Hilo, Hawaii, has appeared on an internal list of federal offices whose leases are due to be cancelled on 30 September, as part of an effort by Musk’s so-called “department of government efficiency” to terminate leases for hundreds of federal offices this year, the Associated Press reported.

An image provided by United States Geological Survey (USGS) shows the eruption of Kilauea volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii, on 5 March. Photograph: AP

“It remains unclear exactly how that lease cancellation will affect the observatory’s research and public services,” the Honolulu Civil Beat reported.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and the US Geological Survey did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

For the past hundred years, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory has been tasked with monitoring the islands’ geologic activity, for the purposes of both scientific research and public safety warnings. Today, according to the observatory’s website, a team of more than 30 people monitors data collected 24 hours a day in order to provide local residents updates on what’s currently happening, and what might be coming next.

Geologists deployed to the rim looking over the evening views of lava at the summit of Kilauea volcano inside Hawaii Volcanoes national park in Hawaii, on 11 February. Photograph: J Barnett/AP

As Kilauea began continuously releasing lava from its summit caldera inside Hawaii Volcanoes national park on Wednesday morning after a weeklong pause, the observatory’s scientists posted frequent updates, noting health hazards and that the molten rock was contained within the park and wasn’t threatening residential areas.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory is one of five volcano observatories run by the US Geological Survey across the western US. The American Institute of Physicists, a non-profit that advocates for science and scientists, posted on its website that “one of the sites of the Alaska Volcano Observatory, which houses equipment to monitor possible eruptions”, was also slated for possible closure.

The Associated Press contributed reporting