Volcano Monitoring: Understanding Magma Storage and Migration in the Active East Rift Zone on the Big Island of Kīlauea: Kauai Now

“Volcano Watch” is a weekly article and activity update written by scientists from the USGS, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and their affiliates. Today's article was written by HVO geophysicist Ninfa Pennington and colleagues from ETH Zürich Federica Lanza and Alicia Rohnacher.

As signals from earthquakes move through the Earth, they are affected by the structure of the volcano, including the presence of magma and/or fault zones.

These structures can cause seismic waves to travel faster or slower, which is recorded on seismometers. Seismologists can use this data to create images of where magma is located and track its path underground.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory has about 80 permanent seismometers on the island of Hawaii.

Using only data from permanent seismometers provides an ambiguous picture of the underlying magma storage structures.

However, if the number of seismometers at the surface is increased, more seismic waves traveling through the magma storage areas will be recorded, resulting in a clearer picture of the subsurface.

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In late June, seismologists from ETH (Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule) in Zurich and the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory deployed 115 seismic nodes — small, portable seismometers — across Kīlauea's East Rift Zone, coincidentally before the start of major unrest.

Map showing temporal seismic nodes spread across the Kīlauea East Rift (red triangles). Earthquakes that occurred in the East Rift Zone between July 1 and September 22 are shown as black dots. Kaluapil, the caldera summit of Kilauea. Outlined in purple. The blue line drawn between the two nodes indicates the region where the velocity changes were calculated. The gray shaded area approximates the eastern rift zone.

Data recorded on these nodes will be used to image the location and volume of magma within the Eastern Rift Zone at a level of detail not previously possible, and the resulting model will help us better understand the volcanic hazards in this region.

Given their deployment schedule, they recorded earthquakes associated with magma seepage into the East Rift in July and August, as well as the Middle East Rift Zone volcanic eruption from September 15 to 20.

In fact, 4 of the nodes had to be rescued from the field to prevent them from being affected by the recent eruption.

These densely spaced seismic instruments will continue recording until October.

Seismologists at ETH Zurich and seismologists at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory are now working together to analyze a subset of data from nodes already collected from late June through late August.

Specifically, they are using an analysis tool called ambient noise interferometry, which takes advantage of continuous seismic signals created by the interaction between ocean swell and ocean crust, to determine what was happening below the surface that led to the September eruption.

Magma moves through the volcano, opening and closing rift systems, causing changes in the speed at which ocean noise signals travel through the Earth. Scientists can monitor these ocean noise signals for signs that magma is accumulating beneath the surface.

Ocean noise traveling through the ground beneath the upper eastern rift zone of Kīlauea volcano between early July and late August showed changes as magma began to enter this zone.

The most dramatic change we observed is the rapid decrease in velocity that began on July 21, indicating the opening of cracks and fractures due to magma intrusion in this region.

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At the same time, swarms of earthquakes occurred due to pressures generated by magma seeping into the Earth's interior.

This example shows how ambient noise interferometry can be used, along with other volcano monitoring datasets, to understand changes occurring beneath the surface of a volcano.

Changes in seismic velocity and earthquake rates from July to mid-August at Kīlauea are shown in the top panel. The bottom panel shows earthquake rates over time during the same period. The dashed purple line indicates the opening of cracks and fractures as magma begins to intrude into the eastern rift zone. The continued decrease in seismic velocity that appears to the right of the purple line reflects the continued entry of magma into the region.

While this example focuses on velocity changes at a single pair of nodes, future analysis will be performed for the entire 115 tool set.

This full analysis will contribute to our understanding of where magma migrated across the eastern rift zone in the time leading up to the September 2024 eruption.

Volcano activity updates

Kīlauea does not erupt. The volcano alert level is at advisory level.

The Middle East Rift Zone eruption, which began on September 15 near Napau Crater, within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, ended on September 20.

In total, more than 156 acres were covered in lava that erupted from the fissure system more than a mile long.

Since the end of the eruption, rates of ground deformation and seismicity in the summit and eastern rift zone eruption zone have decreased, with approximately 40 earthquakes occurring in the Kīlauea summit zone and 50 earthquakes in the upper rift zone to the Middle East.

Sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission rates in the Middle East rift zone have decreased since the eruption ended, with no SO2 detected from the site of the eruption on September 23.

The most recent measurement of the sulfur dioxide emission rate at the summit was 60 tons per day on September 17.

Mauna Loa does not erupt. The volcano alert level is at normal level.

Three earthquakes were reported to be felt around Hawaii Island over the past week:

A magnitude 3.2 earthquake 19 miles southwest of Pawelo at a depth of 11 miles September 25 at 1:01 p.m. A magnitude 4.0 earthquake 2 miles south of Pahala at a depth of 20 miles September 22 at 6:21 a.m. A magnitude 3.1 earthquake 14 miles south of the volcano on Depth 19 miles September 19 at 9:31 p.m

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory continues to closely monitor Kīlauea and Mauna Loa.

Visit the observatory's website for previous Volcano Watch articles, Kīlauea and Mauna Loa updates, volcano photos, maps, recent earthquake information, and more. Email questions to [email protected].

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