Volcano Watching – Keeping Up with Kīlauea: Kauai Now

Volcano Watch is a weekly article and activity update written by scientists from the USGS, Hawaii Volcano Observatory and their affiliates. Today's article was written by University of Hawaii seismic analyst Maddie Houck's Research Foundation.

Kīlauea volcano began erupting from fissures southwest of Kaluapili (caldera summit) just after midnight on June 3; The eruption stopped after only nine hours, although lava flows continued to spread slowly for several more hours. Before the brief eruption, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) had been monitoring pulses of increased seismic activity in the summit area for weeks.

The two distinct groups of earthquakes at Kīlauea during the last four time periods of swarm activity. Event numbers increase in the southern caldera group while numbers decrease in the upper eastern rift zone group from time periods I to IV.

How did these earthquakes give us insight into the features of the molten magma below and the eruption that would have occurred?

Earthquakes result from the breaking of cold, brittle rocks. When magma moves into an area, it forces the surrounding rock to bend and then break. This fragile rock “failure” is what HVO seismologists see daily on live data streams as earthquakes. Earthquake locations can identify magma chambers, indicate fault movement, or show where magma has moved to a new area. On Kīlauea, earthquake swarms are coupled with changes in ground motion as seen on inclinometers, giving HVO scientists an idea of ​​the pressure of subsurface magma chambers.

The proposed magma plumbing system at Kīlauea is divided into three main chambers: the Halemaʻumaʻu reservoir, the southern caldera reservoir, and the Keanakākoʻi reservoir. In the weeks leading up to Monday's eruption, there were three distinct periods of increased unrest. From 27 April to 3 May, 6 to 9 May, and 17 to 18 May, two distinct sets of earthquakes occurred in the southern caldera and the upper eastern rift zone (see Box 3 in Figure 1).

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During these swarms, earthquake locations often shift between the southern caldera group and the upper eastern rift zone group as magma pressure levels fluctuate within different storage zones. The number of events increases in the southern caldera group while the numbers diminish in the upper eastern rift group as the system approaches eruption. Earth tilt rates, measured by crest tilt meters, will also increase during earthquake swarms, indicating an increased pulsation of magma accumulating beneath the surface.

Although the earthquakes have occurred in different combinations, they can occur in response to pressures generated by magma chambers located nearby. For this reason, there were several possible scenarios. First, the accumulation of magma can stop, and no eruption occurs. Magma accumulation could continue with a volcanic eruption at Caloabile or magma could migrate to the southwest by either intrusion (similar to last January) or eruption.

As we now know, the magma had already migrated to the southwest, and this time it erupted.

On the afternoon of June 2, earthquakes again increased beneath the southern caldera area and intensified rapidly, prompting the HVO to raise the alert level and aviation color code for Kīlauea at 5:30 p.m.

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For 12 hours, earthquakes up to M4.1 shook the summit area until 12:30 a.m. Monday, when a fissure opened about 1 mile (2 km) southwest of the caldera. The eruption occurred near ground fissures that formed in late January.

Previous eruptions in this area – in 1971 and 1974 – were short, so it was not surprising that the fissure stopped erupting nine hours after the eruption began. Fortunately, the short-lived eruption occurred within a closed area of ​​Hawaii Volcanoes National Park; It did not cause any damage to the infrastructure. It was the first eruption in the Kīlauea region in 50 years, and the first eruption outside of Kaluapili since 2018. Only about 100 acres were covered in new lava, compared to more than 500 acres during the September 2023 eruption inside Kaluapili.

While lava has stopped moving on Kīlauea's surface, volcanic gas emissions remain high and subsurface activity remains dynamic. HVO scientists will continue to monitor closely for signs of change.

Volcano activity updates

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

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Kīlauea volcano erupted briefly on Monday, June 3, southwest of Kaluapele (Kīlauea caldera) within the closed area of ​​Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The tremor and flare associated with fissure openings are still present but have decreased significantly since June 3. Sulfur dioxide emission rates remain high in the upper Southwest Rift Zone eruption area; An emission rate of 400 tons per day was measured today, June 6, for areas common to Kīlauea Summit and the recent eruption. Overall seismic activity in the summit area including the eruption zone remains low, although inflationary ground deformation of the summit continues. Additional pulses of seismicity and deformation could trigger new volcanic eruptions within the region or elsewhere in the Southwest Rift Zone.

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

Webcams show no signs of activity on Mauna Loa. Seismic activity has remained at low levels over the past month. Ground deformation indicates continued slow inflation as magma replenishes the reservoir system after the 2022 eruption. Sulfur dioxide emission rates are at background levels.

Nine earthquakes felt on the Hawaiian Islands have been reported over the past week: M3.5 earthquake 2 miles southwest of Pahala at a depth of 18 miles on June 5 at 4:18 a.m. M3.1 earthquake 1 mile southwest of Pahala at 31 km (19 miles) depth June 3 at 7:01 a.m., M4.1 earthquake 4 miles southwest of the volcano at 0 miles depth June 2 at 9:12 p.m., M3.2 earthquake 4 miles southwest of the volcano at 1- mile depth June 2 at 7:38 p.m., M4.0 earthquake 4 miles southwest of the volcano at a depth of 0 miles June 2 at 7:06 p.m., M3.1 earthquake 4 miles southwest of the volcano at a depth of 0 miles in June 2 at 6:15 p.m., M3.4 earthquake 4 miles southwest of the volcano at a depth of 1 mile on June 2 5:15 p.m., M3.1 earthquake 4 miles southwest of the volcano at a depth of 0 miles on June 2, 2024 at 4:58 p.m., and a M3.4 earthquake 7 miles south of Waikoloa at a depth of 22 miles on June 1 at 7:16 p.m.

The HVO continues to monitor Kīlauea and Mauna Loa closely.

Visit the HVO 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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