Volcano Watch: Kilauea’s other rift zone; Youth activity in the Southwest Rift Region

It is no secret that the island of Hawaii is home to remarkable volcanic features, many of which were created during the eruptions of Kilauea, Mauna Loa and Hualalai since 1800.

The East Rift Zone of Kilauea has been particularly worthy of publication for the past 40 years as Pu’u’O’o erupted almost continuously from 1983 to 2018 followed by the 2018 outbreak that started at Leilani Estates.

The summit of Kilauea also witnessed volcanic eruptions in April and September of 1982 and the 2008-18 lava lake, which drained and were followed by magnificent collapses from May to September 2018. The newly enlarged Halema’uma’u Crater is filled with lava from a volcano eruption that began in December 2020.

Frequent summit eruptions and the East Rift Zone often appear to cast a shadow over the southwestern Rift Zone at Kilauea, which extends southwest from Halema’uma’u to the coast about 5 kilometers (3 mi) southeast of Pahala.

The southwest rift zone of Kilauea is located almost entirely within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and hosts its own impressive volcanic terrain, such as the Great Crack and the Kamakaya Hills and Bukwa. In contrast to the densely forested East Rift Region, a large portion of the southwest Rift Zone lies downwind of Halema’uma’u in the Ka’u Desert, which consists of scattered vegetation near the summit and meadows scattered near the coast.

It is also less visited than other parts of Kilauea due to the lack of roads and few hiking trails.

The vegetation scattered in the fractured southwest region has given geologists at the US Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory a much clearer picture of recent volcanic eruptions, especially from about 1500 to the present.

Contributing to the unique appearance of the southwest rift zone, especially near the Kilauea summit, the windswept explosive deposits, sandy, scattered rocks, which cover ancient pyroclastic flows. These are the explosive eruption deposits known as Keanakako’i Tephra from the summit of Kilauea that began around 1500 and continued until the early nineteenth century.

One of the most historically significant volcanic eruptions in Hawaiian history is the group of volcanic eruptions that occurred in the year 1790. This eruption killed several hundred people traveling through the area, and some of their footprints were preserved in an ash deposit.

Keanakako’i Tephra provides a useful marker in the Southwest Rift Zone to help restrict the ages of lava flows. Some of these eruptions have been documented and witnessed, while others have recently been identified as young eruptions through the diligent mapping of geologists.

The first written account of volcanic activity in the southwest rift zone was by the Reverend William Ellis (1794-1872). In 1823, he and his companions were traveling to the summit of Kilauea and encountered the effects of a pyroclastic flow at Kiowa in 1823, which erupted from a fissure now connected to the Great Rift.

It is now known that the southwest rift zone was particularly active between the explosive eruption of 1790 and the lava flow of 1823, including eruptions from the Kamakai’a Hills and the Keala’alea Hills. Previous Volcano Watch articles provide more details on some of the lava flows of the early nineteenth century: “Rethinking the early known volcanic history of Kilauea” and “The Kamakai’a Hills: What are they and why are they found there?”

Some of the more recent eruptions in the southwest rift zone observed during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries were those in 1868, 1919-20, 1971 and 1974. These range from relatively small explosions that lasted a few days or less, such as the eruption. Volcanic. From 1868, to the most massive eight-month eruption of Mauna Ike volcano in 1919-20.

The last volcanic eruption of the Southwest Rift Zone was a short-lived event in December 1974 as lava flowed more than 11 km (7 mi) from a series of fissure vents that opened a few miles south of Halema’uma’u. In April 2015, increased supply of magma to Kilauea Peak Reservoir led to a shallow penetration into the southern caldera. Although no eruption occurred in the southwest rift zone, this reinforces the fact that magma can move into this region at any time.

There is still a lot to learn about the volcanic history of the southwest rift zone, which will be the focus of a new research project on HVO.

Although more than 40 years have passed since its last eruption, this visually stunning portion of Kilauea is still active.

Volcano activity updates

Kilauea volcano erupting. The USGS Volcano Alert Level in Watch (www.usgs.gov/natural-hazards/volcano-hazards/about-alert-levels). Kilauea updates are released daily.

Lava activity is limited to Halema’uma’u, with lava erupting from a vent hatch on the northwest side of the crater. Laser rangefinder measurements on the morning of April 15th indicate that the lava in the western (active) part of the lake is 227 meters (745 feet) deep, with the eastern portion of the lava lake solidifying at the surface. The crest tilt recorded little change. The sulfur dioxide emission rates measured on April 14 were 950 tons / day. Earthquakes remain stable, as tremor rises.

For the most recent information on the eruption, visit www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/current-eruption.

Mauna Loa does not erupt and is still in the Volcano Alert Level Alert. This alert level does not imply that a volcano eruption is imminent or that progression to an eruption from the current level of disturbance is certain. Mauna Loa updates are released weekly.

Last week, about 220 small-scale earthquakes were recorded below Mauna Loa, of which 188 were below the summit and higher elevations; Most of these occurred at depths of less than 8 kilometers (about 5 miles). Recent GPS measurements have shown diverging crest deformation patterns, as they have gone from contracting to stretching slightly over the past week. Gas concentrations and fumarole temperatures at the summit and in the sulfur cone in the southwest rift region remain stable. Web cameras do not show any changes to the landscape.

For more information on the current monitoring of Mauna Loa volcano, visit www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/mauna-loa/monitoring.

There have been three events with three or more reports in the Hawaiian Islands over the past week: a M2.1 earthquake 10 km (6 mi) at 6:32 a.m. on April 12 ENE from Pahala at a depth of 30 km (18 mi), a earthquake M3.1 4 km (2 mi) at 8:08 p.m. on April 10 ENE from Pahala at a depth of 33 km (20 mi) and a M3.0 earthquake 10 km (6 mi) at 2:04 pm at April 10 ENE from Pahala at a depth of 31 km (19 mi).

HVO continues to closely monitor the ongoing Kilauea eruption and Mauna Loa for any signs of increased activity.

Visit the HVO website for previous Volcano Watch articles, Kilauea and Mauna Loa updates, volcano photos, maps, recent earthquake information and more. Questions emailed to [email protected].

Volcano Watch is a weekly article and activity update written by the scientists and affiliates of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory of the US Geological Survey.

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