SOEST researchers contribute to international Earth Science Week

The map from the Hawaiʻi Play Fairway project shows probability of geothermal resources in Hawai'i.

Researchers from the Hawaiʻi Institute Geophysics and Planetology (HIGP) and Department of Earth Sciences contributed to educational materials shared during the international 2025 Earth Science Week. Founded in 1998 by the American Geosciences Institute, Earth Science Week is an annual international event held during the second week of October to encourage better public understanding of and appreciation for the Earth Sciences and Earth stewardship.

This year’s event celebrated the theme “Energy Resources for Our Future”. The American Geosciences Institute created a poster about Hawaiʻi’s renewable energy resources, which included a map of Hawaiʻi created by Emeritus professor of Earth Sciences John Sinton and a map for probability of geothermal resources in Hawaiʻi created by HIGP professor Nicole Lautze and colleagues at the Hawaiʻi Groundwater and Geothermal Resources Center. The second map resulted from the Hawaiʻi Play Fairway project, Hawaiʻi’s first statewide geothermal assessment since the 1980s.  

“HIGP has led geothermal exploration in Hawaii since the 1970s,” said Lautze, lead of the Hawaiʻi Play Fairway project. “This map is a result of cutting-edge research by Hawaiʻi’s foremost experts and led to further stages of a project that is now guiding further geothermal exploration in Hawaiʻi.”

More resources from Earth Science Week 2025 

With a plethora of educational activities and resources, Earth Science Week is a vibrant call to action for individuals of every age and background. It’s an invitation to dive into the fascinating world of Earth’s processes, explore the bounty of natural resources, and discuss the pivotal role of geosciences in addressing critical societal challenges.
Along with the poster highlighting opportunities for Harnessing Energy on Hawai‘i, there are several learning activities offered on the Earth Science Week website including an interactive map and graphs of energy consumption and production in Hawai‘i, the USGS map of Kīlauea, and information about the most recent eruption, and a curated collection of resources on Kīlauea’s scientific, educational, cultural, economic, and aesthetic significance.