Hawai‘i Volcano Activity Update: Mar. 22, 2018

Some of the veteran staff and volunteers at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park stand on the northeast rim of Kīlauea caldera, behind Volcano House. From left to right, Chantel Weaver (Army National Guard); Lindsay Barclay (Air Force); Rob Ely (Navy); Diana Miller (Air Force); Paul Field (Army); Renee Richardson (Air Force); Donny Pham (Army); Tom Lemmer (Navy) and Jack Corrao (Navy). Photo: NPS/Janice Wei.

This past week, Kīlauea Volcano’s summit lava lake level fluctuated with summit inflation and deflation, ranging about 66 to 118 feet below the vent rim. On the East Rift Zone, the 61g lava flow remained active downslope of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō, with scattered breakouts on the upper part of the flow field and on Pulama pali, but no ocean entry. The 61g flows do not pose an immediate threat to nearby communities.

Mauna Loa is not erupting. Rates of deformation and seismicity have not changed significantly over the past week, but persist above long-term background levels. Only a few small-magnitude earthquakes occurred beneath the volcano, primarily at depths shallower than eight miles. The largest was a magnitude-2.0 earthquake in the Mauna Loa summit caldera on Mar. 16. GPS and InSAR measurements continue to show slow deformation related to inflation of a magma reservoir beneath the summit and upper Southwest Rift Zone. No significant changes in volcanic gas release or fumarole temperature were measured.

No earthquakes were reported felt in the Hawaiian Islands this past week.

Please visit HVO’s website for past Volcano Watch articles, Kīlauea daily eruption updates, Mauna Loa weekly updates, volcano photos, maps, recent earthquake info, and more.

The “Hawai‘i Volcano Activity Update” is a weekly article written by U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists and affiliates.

Call for summary updates at (808) 967-8862 (Kīlauea) or (808) 967-8866 (Mauna Loa); email questions to [email protected].