The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory celebrated the 30th anniversary of Mauna Loa's last eruption (in 1984) on March 25, 2014, underscoring that it has been a realtively quite 3 decades at the world's largest active volcano.
A tiltmeter, is a type of instrument used to detect any kind of tilt in the structure to which it is attached. Most tiltmeters use an air bubble in a liquid-filled tube, much like a typical carpenter's level, but are equipped with sensitive electronics that can detect even the tiniest change in tilt. They either sound an alarm or transmit the data to a remote monitor or other device.
A hydrometer or areometer is an instrument that measures the specific gravity (relative density) of liquidsâthe ratio of the density of the liquid to the density of water. A hydrometer is usually made of glass, and consists of a cylindrical stem and a bulb weighted with mercury or lead shot to make it float upright. The liquid to test is poured into a tall container, often a graduated cylinder, and the hydrometer is gently lowered into the liquid until it floats freely. The point at which the surface of the liquid touches the stem of the hydrometer correlates to specific gravity.