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Hawaiian Volcano Update: Kīlauea Quakes Slowly Ongoing

Not much has changed on Kīlauea this past week: magma continues to fill the volcano underground, slowly swelling the area around the south caldera and Southwest Rift Connector and triggering small earthquakes, which extend farther down much of the Southwest Rift. While still modest, seismic rates have slightly increased since last week, suggesting a slow ramp-up as part of the recovery from the significant January 31st intrusion. Ground tilt continues to climb steadily in the south caldera near the Sand Hill monitoring station, where earthquakes are also clustered, as the magma build-up appe...

What was an emergency manager doing at a scientific conference? — Volcano Watch

On the Island of Hawaiʻi, frequent eruptions foster a close relationship between the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) and the Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense Agency (HCCDA). HVO monitors the active volcanoes and their associated hazards; HCCDA alerts and protects communities from impacts of volcanic events. This relationship, between volcano observatories and their emergency managers, was highlighted at the recent “Cities on Volcanoes” meeting in Antigua, Guatemala. The COV meeting is held every other year, and it brings scientists from around the world together to share information on t...

Hawaiian Volcano Update: Kīlauea Inflation Shifts South, Review 5 Eruptions 2020-23

During this first week of March, Kīlauea continued to inflate following its large Southwest Rift intrusion in late January/early February. Summit monitoring streams still show little net change around Halemaʻumaʻu, which is still producing frequent deflation-inflation cycles while gently inflating. However, the south caldera area connected to the SW Rift has generated a few more earthquakes within the past week, and shows to be the center of uplift over the past two weeks based on satellite radar data. Farther southwest, the volcano’s flank appears to have stabilized after its notable adjustme...

Hawaii represented at the Cities on Volcanoes conference in Antigua, Guatemala — USGS Volcano Watch

In February, the volcanological community gathered for the 12th edition of Cities on Volcanoes (COV12), a conference of the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI). This conference series started in 1998, with the third conference held in Hilo in 2003; Cities on Volcanoes conferences are held every two to three years in a city that co-exists with and is influenced by volcanism. This year COV12 was in Antigua, Guatemala, the colonial capital of Guatemala from 1543-1773, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. Three volcanoes, Fuego, Agua, ...

Kīlauea intrusion was a textbook example of dike propagation — USGS Volcano Watch

From January 31 to February 3, 2024, a magma intrusion into Kīlauea’s flank, southwest of the summit caldera, was the focus of attention at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO). Hundreds of earthquakes announced the influx of new magma. The intensity of the seismic activity was similar to what has preceded recent summit eruptions at Kīlauea, prompting HVO staff to raise Kīlauea’s Alert Level/Aviation Color Code to WATCH/ORANGE at 4:41 a.m. HST on January 31. After earthquake activity receded on February 3, 2024, the alert level was returned to ADVISORY/YELLOW. In addition to the high...

Hawaiian Volcano Update: Kīlauea Quietly Refilling Post-Intrusion

Kīlaueaʻs earthquake counts stayed relatively low over the past week, still concentrated along the trace of recent intrusion into the Southwest Rift and beneath the volcano’s summit. Quakes are also occurring along the presumed magma pathway from Pāhala, 20 miles or 30 km deep far beneath Kīlauea’s southwest flank, seemingly in response to the recent intrusion. However, these deep earthquakes have little short-term effect on surface activity, and might instead be considered a sign of a robust longer-term magma supply. The summit and south caldera area continues to generally inflate as it fill...

Dear Valentine, will you be my lab partner? — USGS Volcano Watch

The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) “lavas” working with our partners at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo (UHH), and for Valentine’s Day we wanted to highlight some of the things we appreciate about this relationship. Faculty and students in the UHH Geology and Anthropology Departments contribute to both volcano monitoring and research in Hawai‘i. Recently, seismic unrest southwest of Kīlauea’s summit alerted HVO to a new intrusion of magma that occurred over a three-day period. The intrusion resulted in slight changes in ground elevations and new surface cracks along the Maunaiki t...

“Forging a Path with a 12-PoundHammer” | Buffalo Soldiers | Black History Month | HVNP

HAWAII NATIONAL PARK, Hawaiʻi – Most visitors to Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park never set foot on Mauna Loa Trail. Even fewer people know the remarkable story of the Black soldiers who in 1915 built a trail between the summit of Kīlauea and the nearly 14,000-foot summit of Mauna Loa volcano. A new video from Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, “Forging a Path with a 12-Pound Hammer,” celebrates Black History Month and the story of the African-American soldiers who built the remote 30-mile trail. Why would these enlisted men, who faced segregation even in racially diverse Hawaiʻi, undergo ...

Hawaiian Volcano Update: Kīlauea’s SW Rift Intrusion Wanes

After last week’s ramping up of earthquakes, seismicity peaked at the end of last week coincident with a massive intrusion around the Koaʻe Fault Zone above Kīlauea’s Southwest Rift Connector, and has since dropped off significantly across the volcano. The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory recorded more than 3,000 earthquakes in total during the event, lowering the alert levels from WATCH/ORANGE to ADVISORY/YELLOW on Saturday morning. They report GPS receivers on the Southwest Rift moving laterally up to 8 inches or 20 cm, and upwards up to 20 inches or 50 cm, as their models “suggest an accum...

Another intrusion southwest of Kīlauea’s summit — USGS Volcano Watch

Last week, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) scientists were closely monitoring earthquakes and ground deformation in the region southwest of Kīlauea’s summit. The increased unrest prompted HVO to raise the Alert Level/Aviation Color Code for Kīlauea to WATCH/ORANGE on January 31 as another intrusive event began beneath the surface. Intrusions are when magma breaks rock to create new pathways within the ground. As magma moves beneath the surface into its new space, the ground above it deforms to accommodate the new material. HVO detects intrusions through earthquake locations (which ...

Hawaiian Volcano Update: Strongest Swarm Marks Kīlauea’s Latest SW Rift Intrusion

For most of January, Kīlauea’s earthquakes slowed significantly as magma continued to gather underground, but during the past week the volcano reached a breaking point, starting on January 27th as its south caldera seismicity resumed. This preceded a significant pulse of magma that triggered the largest number of earthquakes in this sequence since its start in October, exceeding 1,500 located events thus far. The big pulse began in the south caldera two nights ago and has migrated down the Southwest Rift Connector about 10 miles to Puʻu Kou on the Southwest Rift thus far. While the situati...

Hawaiian Volcano Update: Kīlauea Earthquakes Slow, Inflation & Intrusion Continue

Over the past week, Kīlauea’s earthquakes slowed significantly as its most recent magma pulse into the south caldera and Southwest Rift was accommodated by the filling of underground cracks and other spaces. Low level seismicity continues in the Upper East Rift Connector adjacent to the Koaʻe Fault Zone, as the intrusion has recently focused uplift in that area as evident through satellite data. Inflation is ongoing around the summit and Southwest Rift as magma continues to likely fill established pathways at a lower rate, without triggering swarms of earthquakes. The potential remains for...

Where is magma stored in Kīlauea? - USGS Volcano Watch

USGS-HVO - Over the past several months, periods of increased earthquake activity and ground deformation in the summit region of Kīlauea volcano indicate that magma is accumulating beneath the surface. Where does magma reside, and how do we know? First, let’s envision what a region of magma storage might look like. The top of an active magma chamber is hot with liquid rock. Deeper in the chamber, it transitions to slightly cooler, partially molten/partially solid, crystal-rich material, and eventually to relatively cold and brittle rock. The amount of magma in a reservoir fluctuates over ti...

Separating signals: What matters to seismologists? — USGS Volcano Watch

Whether they originate above or below the Earth’s surface, a wide array of signals appear on the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory’s earthquake-detecting (seismic) data streams. Part of a seismic analyst’s duty is identifying normal versus irregular seismic activity. Being able to distinguish between random signals and volcanically induced seismic activity allows USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) seismologists to keep a closer eye on what matters, the volcanoes. Seismic signals can be divided into two categories: natural Earth processes and anthropogenic, or human caused, signals....

Maunaiki Trail Reopens in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park

HAWAII NATIONAL PARK, Hawaiʻi – Maunaiki Trail from the trailhead near Kulanaokuaiki Campground to the Kaʻū Desert Trail intersection has reopened in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. The park temporarily closed Maunaiki Trail in October because of increased seismicity in the Southwest Rift Zone of Kīlauea volcano. Kīlauea is not erupting, and seismicity has been low in the Southwest Rift Zone, the summit region and the upper East Rift Zone according to USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists. This remote and uncrowded seven-mile trail traverses the spectacular geological, natural and cultural features of the Kaʻū Desert, including the Twin Pit Craters where koaʻe kea (white-tailed tropicbirds) soar above their nesting sites. Although the recent volcanic unrest is quiet, eruptive activity could occur in the near future with little or no warning. Park visitors are urged to plan ahead and check the park website for any closure or hazard alerts at www.nps.gov/hawaiivolcanoes. Via N...

A Pūpū Platter of Earthquakes — USGS Volcano Watch

A pūpū platter is an assortment of appetizers commonly served at social gatherings in Hawaii. During one week in December 2023, Island of Hawaiʻi residents and visitors were treated to an assortment of earthquakes resulting from a variety of different geologic processes, like a pūpū platter of earthquakes! Thousands of earthquakes occur every year in Hawaii. These earthquakes are monitored by the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) and fall into three main classes: volcanic, tectonic, and mantle. Volcanic earthquakes are associated with magma moving within, and erupting from, acti...

Hawaiian Volcano Update: Kīlauea Earthquake Pattern Shifts

Over the past week, Kīlauea’s shallow earthquakes diminished but continue in association with the ongoing Southwest Rift and south caldera intrusion, and the recent deformation patterns appear unchanged. Around the same time, a deeper set of earthquakes beneath the summit magma reservoirs flared up over the first part of the week, but have slowed in the past couple of days. The situation largely remains the same, with no increased volcanic hazard to people and the potential for a short ramp-up to eruption within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Gas emissions remain at background levels for...

Hawaiian Volcano Update: Kīlauea Intrusion In 3rd Month

Another week brought another pulse of earthquakes in Kīlauea’s ongoing intrusion of the Southwest Rift and south caldera areas, but largely the situation on the volcano remains the same since October. It continues to fill with magma and pressurize underground, leading to adjustments of the large blocks surrounding the caldera and injections of magma between them. If at any point the volcano cannot adjust to accommodate the growing pressure, it might push to the surface and erupt within a 1 to 2 hour time-frame (within the National Park), but alternately it could continue to move and adjust for...

Sniffing out stealthy gas escape between Kīlauea’s eruptions — USGS Volcano Wa..

Kīlauea has erupted three times in 2023—January–March, June, and September—and has also experienced significant intrusive activity to the southwest of the summit since the beginning of October. During eruptions, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) frequently reports sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission rates as a means of tracking the progression of eruptive activity. But for the periods before eruptions, or when there is an ongoing intrusion with no eruption, most of the data that HVO relies on is geophysical data, like deformation or seismicity, rather than geochemical data like SO2 emis...

Hawaiian Volcano Update: Kīlauea Quakes - Magnitudes 5.1, 4.4 & Volcanic Swarms

Over the past week, Kīlauea exhibited all three of its earthquake types: tectonic movement of the south flank through a M5.1 on Monday, deep flexural settling through a M4.4 on Wednesday, and continuing waxing and waning of volcanic swarms associated with the ongoing intrusion south and west of the summit. While generally these larger events illustrate the progression of adjustments on the volcano, in the short term not much has changed as the general pattern of the past two months continues. Presently, both the Halemaʻumaʻu and Outlet areas within and southwest of the summit caldera are s...