HVO UPDATE: Refilling of Middle East Rift Zone

The U.S. Geological Survey continues to release their weekly updates. The following update is for the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory for Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2018.

Panorama of Fissure 8 cone from the northeast [LQcam] last updated Oct. 30, 2018 at 1:28 p.m. PC: USGS

Observations: HVO monitoring during the past week shows low rates of seismicity at the summit and East Rift Zone (ERZ). Earthquakes continue to occur primarily at Kīlauea’s summit area and south flank (magnitude-3.8 was the largest) with continued small aftershocks of the magnitude-6.9 quake on May 4, 2018. Seismicity remains low in the Lower ERZ.

In the ERZ, tiltmeters near Puʻu ʻŌʻō and farther east continue to record an inflationary trend, consistent with refilling of the Middle East Rift Zone. At the summit, tiltmeters have recorded a slight inflationary trend.

Sulfur dioxide gas emissions at the summit averaged 50 tonnes/day as reported on Oct. 24, and 75 tonnes/day at Puʻu ʻŌʻō on Oct. 23. There was no sulfur dioxide detected by our instruments in the Lower ERZ.

Hazards are still present in the Lower East Rift Zone (LERZ) eruption area and at the Kīlauea summit. Residents and visitors near recently active fissures and lava flows should stay informed, heed Hawai‘i County Civil Defense and National Park warnings, and be prepared, if necessary, to self-evacuate in the unlikely event of renewed activity. Please note that Hawai‘i County maintains a closure of the entire flow field and the vents and prohibits access to the area unless authorized through Civil Defense.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) continues to closely monitor Kīlauea’s seismicity, deformation, and gas emissions for any sign of reactivation, and maintains visual surveillance of the summit and the East Rift Zone. HVO will continue to issue a weekly update (every Tuesday) and additional messages as warranted by changing a