No earthquake swarms were reported at KĪlauea summit on Monday; the volcano continues to show signs of unrest

Elevated seismic activity continues in an area south of Kīlauea’s summit caldera, though levels were slightly lower Monday. Kīlauea volcano is not erupting at this time.

Tumblers have been reported at the summit for the past several days along with earthquake swarms. On Monday, quakes occurred steadily throughout the day, without swarm activity. Most earthquakes have been at a depth of 1-2 miles below the surface, with no upward migration. No unusual activity has been noted along Kilauea’s East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift zone.

No active lava has been observed since June 19. A live-stream video of the inactive western lava lake area is available at https://www.youtube.com/usgs/live.

According to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, the activity is currently confined within Kīlauea’s summit region and if it continues, could escalate to an eruption in the coming days, weeks, or months.

The activity could also decrease due to the intrusion of magma underground or other changes, resulting in no eruption. Furthermore, levels of activity are expected to rise and fall during this period.

Summit tiltmeters showed deflationary tilt throughout the day, nonetheless, this is expected to be temporary, with rates returning to recent inflationary trends eventually. Sulfur dioxide emissions from the summit remain low; the most recent SO2 emission rate, of approximately 75 tonnes per day, was measured on Aug. 24.

The earthquake activity and tiltmeter data indicate that Kīlauea summit is becoming increasingly pressurized. Similar episodes of earthquake and ground deformation activity occurred in November 2020 and August 2021, prior to eruptions in December 2020 and September 2021.

No unusual activity has been noted along the East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone; steady rates of ground deformation and seismicity continue along both. Measurements from continuous gas monitoring stations downwind of Puʻuʻōʻō in the middle East Rift Zone remain below detection limits for SO2, indicating that SO2 emissions from Puʻuʻōʻō are negligible.

For information on Kīlauea hazards, see https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hawaiian-volcano-observatory/hazards.

See the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park website for visitor information: https://www.nps.gov/havo/index.htm.