Hawai‘i Volcano Activity Update: Feb. 1, 2018

Visitors enjoy a view the summit eruption from Kīlauea Volcano’s Halema‘uma‘u Crater from a new vantage point just south of Jaggar Museum. The viewing area was funded by entrance fee revenue, and enhances visitor experience at the park’s most popular destination. PC: NPS/Janice Wei.

This past week, Kīlauea Volcano’s summit lava lake level fluctuated with summit inflation and deflation, ranging about 82 to 110 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 pali and coastal plain, but no ocean entry. The 61g flows do not pose an immediate threat to nearby communities.

Mauna Loa Volcano is not erupting. Rates of deformation and seismicity remain above long-term background levels. Small-magnitude earthquakes occurred beneath the summit caldera and upper Southwest Rift Zone at depths less than three miles. The rate of seismicity near the summit was slightly greater during the past week than in recent weeks. A few deeper earthquakes were scattered beneath the volcano’s flanks at depths less than eight miles. GPS and InSAR measurements continue to show slow deformation related to inflation of a magma reservoir beneath the summit and upper Southwest Rift Zone, but rates in the past few months have decreased compared to rates of the past year. No significant changes in volcanic gas emissions were measured.

No earthquakes were reported as felt in Hawai‘i this past week.

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 askHVO@usgs.gov.