Tuesday 24, 2018
Our group visited the NELHA ocean conservation center to begin our first day of exploration in Kona, Hawaii. Candee, our guide and educator in ocean technology and conservation efforts, presented a type of marine based energy called OTEC, or Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion. OTEC at its base uses the difference in temperatures in the water to heat up ammonia to a vapor state, powering a turbine, and producing up to 70 kilowatts of energy. She explained that OTEC sucks in the deep, colder water of the ocean and uses it in the heat exchange between the warmer surface water. Deep seawater not only powers OTEC, but it also has uses in agriculture and air conditioning. Overall, Hawaii utilizes OTEC and its source of cold water to make efforts in becoming a island completely dependable on green, renewable energy. More on OTEC here: http://nelha.hawaii.gov/main/highlight-on-otec-in-august-2015/. After our morning at NELHA, we ventured to Mauna Kea, the world’s largest mountain. This is because it’s base begins thousands of feet beneath the ocean, making it just barely larger than Mt. Everest. As we drove up the summit, our tour guide, Jeff, taught us about the mountain’s geology and history. He gave us a brief explanation of the Hawaiian Island Hot Spot Theory, which is the belief that as the Pacific Plate has moved, a zone of magma has been seeping lava up to the surface of the ocean. This process has been creating the Hawaiian Islands for years, and will continue to as the Pacific Plate moves into and beneath the Asian Plate! Along with some other conversations about the stars and observatories on the summit, Jeff told us about the sacred grounds of Mauna Kea. It is believed by the natives to be the home of the gods, since almost all of the elements reside up there. Snow, Water, Rock, and Fire all contain a history with the mountain. As a result, the Hawaiian people used to journey up there to bless children and build small altars to their gods. All in all, this journey today instilled in us memories and lessons we will carry with us throughout the rest of our trip. Tomorrow we begin our diving excursions, and I cannot wait to experience a whole new area of the ocean. 
