Minor seismic activity recorded beneath Kīlauea’s upper East Rift Zone

There are no significant changes to Kīlauea despite recent seismic activity and ground deformation at the summit and upper East Rift Zone.

Over the past 24 hours, no earthquakes were detected beneath Kaluapele (Kīlauea’s summit caldera), and approximately 65 earthquakes were detected beneath the upper East Rift Zone, with about 40 events extending east of Maunaulu near Makaopuhi Crater in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

Most events occurred at depths of 0.0–2.5 miles below the ground surface.

According to Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, new seismic swarms may occur with little or no warning and result in either intrusion of magma or eruption of lava.

Rates of seismicity and ground deformation beneath the middle and lower East Rift Zone and Southwest Rift Zone remain low. Measurements from continuous gas monitoring stations downwind of Puʻuʻōʻō in the middle East Rift Zone—the site of 1983–2018 eruptive activity—remain below detection limits for SO2, indicating that SO2 emissions from Puʻuʻōʻō are negligible.

Tiltmeters in Kīlauea summit region recorded minor inflation and a tiltmeter in the UERZ recorded no inflation or deflation. The most recent measurement of the summit’s SO2 emission rate was approximately 65 tonnes per day on July 23, 2024.

Pulses of earthquakes beneath Kīlauea’s upper East Rift Zone from July 22-25 represented stages of an intrusion between Pauahi Crater and Maunaulu. According to Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, analysis of recent seismic and deformation data suggests that the upper East Rift Zone intrusion may have intruded as far as Makaopuhi crater in the middle East Rift Zone.

More than 1,500 earthquakes were detected, including 30 earthquakes magnitude 3 or greater. The intrusion and unrest are now over but additional swarms may occur with little or no warning and result in either intrusion of additional magma or eruption of lava.

The Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park website will have information about any temporary closures here: https://www.nps.gov/havo/learn/news/newsreleases.htm.