Earthquakes preceding the eruption of Klauea volcano in 2020

Calendar of seismic events leading to the 2020 eruption of Kīlauea volcano, October through December 2020. USGS Graphic.

(BIVN) – The subject of this week’s Volcano Watch article, written by Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists and affiliated offices, is the swarms of earthquakes that preceded the December 2020 eruption at the Kīlauea summit. From USGS HVO:

Pele returned to the summit of Klauea on the evening of December 20, 2020. An incredible video documenting the start of the new eruption at Halema’uma’u and the ongoing dynamic activity. There was no major change indicating that lava would erupt again very quickly, but there were subtle signs of turbulent behavior around the summit of Kīlauea in the months before the eruption.

It is difficult to pinpoint the exact start of past activity, but a noticeable increase began on October 22nd. Several close quakes in space and time (seismic swarm) occurred under the Nāmakanipaio Campground, west of Kīlauea summit.

The Nāmakanipaio Swarm lasted about 48 hours and produced nearly 300 earthquakes, the largest of which was 3.5 magnitude. This swarm caused noticeable shaking and caught the attention of residents and scientists alike. However, swarms around the Nāmakanipaio camp are not uncommon. The most recent swarm, before October 2020, occurred in March 2019.

Earthquakes around the summit of Kīlauea and the Middle East rift were mostly calm during the following month with few minor swarms. The two most active days featured about 100 events discovered. Another large swarm occurred below the summit and the Upper East Rift Zone on December 2, triggering more than 200 earthquakes detected and interrupted by a magnitude of 3.1. The Volcano Watch on December 17, 2020 describes this swarm in detail and its relationship to accelerated ground deformation.

This swarm was the first example of a sequence where the concern was evident in more than just seismic data, as the final segment of the swarm was accompanied by a rapid increase in the Earth’s tilt directions. The slope deviation, along with the migratory seismic activity, indicated the presence of shallow stony interference.

Maps of 2020 seismic events leading to the eruption of Klauea volcano, October to December 2020. Colors are based on timeline. USGS Maps.

Seismologists also observed an increase in long-range seismic signals after this event, indicating that the magma was moving below the surface.

Long-range seismic signals occur less often than seismic swarms, but it is not uncommon to notice them in an active volcano. In this case, the incidence increased to the point that the United States Geological Survey (HVO) Hawaiian Volcano Observatory began drafting documents to raise the Kīlauea volcano alert level.

Before raising the volcano alert level at Kīlauea, Pele decided it was time to get back on top, and on December 20, 2020, she did.

Seismologists observed a small earthquake in the Upper East Rift Zone at around 7:30 PM GMT that night, which, at the time, was no different from recent swarms in that area. Seismic activity stopped in the upper eastern rift zone after about an hour, but then began to increase around the summit of Kīlauea.

This summit activity was initiated by earthquakes occurring every few minutes, starting at depths about 2 km (about 1 mile) below the surface. In this case, magma caused these earthquakes as they made their way to the surface.

The rate of activity continued to increase rapidly. At 9:20 PM GMT, about ten minutes before lava erupted at the summit, earthquakes began to appear so quickly that we couldn’t tell when one event ended and another began. The summit was on its way to “crazy” as one seismologist put it.

Lava broke the surface at about 9:30 pm GMT, but the fast-recurring earthquakes continued over the next forty minutes as new crest vents opened and the magma path became quite steady.

At around 10:10 PM HST, the stations around the summit of Kīlauea were no longer showing any seismic activity. The seismometers showed only a continuous low-frequency tremor signal caused by magma flowing through an open channel.

Seismic calm was briefly interrupted by a 4.4 magnitude earthquake on the south side of Kīlauea. The south wing typically produces large events in response to changes in magma pressure on Kīlauea Volcano, as reported on February 4, 2021 Volcano Watch.

The eruption continues within the Halema’uma’u crater at the summit of Kīlauea, along with the associated tremor signal.

Most of the earthquakes on the island of Hawaii remained at background levels throughout the eruption. However, earthquake rates at the summit of Kīlauea and the East Rift Region decreased dramatically after the onset of the eruption, with the average weekly count dropping from around 150 to less than 15.

HVO scientists continue to monitor Kīlauea and other volcanoes around the island, always analyzing and interpreting data for any hint of activity that might precede the next eruption, wherever it is.

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