Hawai'i Volcano Blog
Tiny Changes at Mauna Loa Summit Holds Big Clues
Although Mauna Loa is Earth’s largest active volcano, it has lived in the shadow of Kīlauea since it last erupted in 1984.
A Look Back: 3 Years Since Kīlauea Eruption Changed Hawai`i Forever
The Puʻu ʻŌʻō collapse marked what scientists at the USGS have since determined was the end of a 35-year eruption that began in 1983.
Volcano Watch: The Rise and Fall of Lava Lakes
May 3 marks three years since the start of the devastating lower East Rift Zone eruption of Kīlauea.
Volcano Watch: How Measuring Gravity on Maunakea Helps Monitor Mauna Loa
The opportunity to calibrate HVO gravimeters on Mauna Kea provides the ability to design a gravity monitoring program to help understand volcanic unrest at Mauna Loa.
Volcano Watch: Young Activity in Kīlauea’s Southwest Rift Zone
It is no secret that the Island of Hawaiʻi is home to fantastic volcanic features, many of which have been created during eruptions of Kīlauea, Mauna Loa, and Hualalai since 1800.
What’s That (Seismic) Noise?
The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) uses dozens of seismometers to locate individual earthquakes and identify signals that are related to faulting and magma movement within our volcanoes.
Back-to-Back Quakes Shake Same Spot Under Mauna Loa Saturday
The USGS “Did you feel it?” service received over 130 felt reports within the first hour of the earthquake, including one report from Kaua‘i.
Volcano Watch: The Lava Lakes of Kīlauea Then and Now
One of the most interesting aspects of the current activity in Halemaʻumaʻu is the occasional oozing of lava around the edges of the entire crater while the lava surface is rising.
Volcano Watch: Using the ocean to track volcanic activity at Kīlauea
As these swells rise and fall, they couple with the ocean floor below them creating a constant signal.
VOLCANO WATCH: If Mauna Loa Erupted, Would You Be Ready?
How can you prepare for a Mauna Loa eruption? The most important thing you can do is to have a personal response plan — especially if you live in or near the magenta zone.
VOLCANO WATCH: Seismicity preceding the 2020 eruption of Kīlauea Volcano
HVO scientists continue to keep a close eye on Kīlauea and the other volcanoes around the island, always analyzing and interpreting data for any hint of activity that may precede the next eruption, wherever it may be.
Volcano Watch: When Will Mauna Loa Erupt Next?
Mauna Loa is not currently erupting. But there have been signs of elevated unrest above known background activity since July 2019.
VOLCANO WATCH: What’s going on at Kīlauea’s Summit Lava Lake?
The rise of the lava lake has been interrupted by several plateaus, and even drops, in level over the past few weeks.
VOLCANO WATCH: Ken Hon Returns to HVO as Scientist-in-Charge
The next USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) Scientist-in-Charge (SIC) has been named, and it’s a name that Island of Hawai‘i residents may be familiar with—Dr. Ken Hon. Ken will be the 21st Scientist-in-Charge filling a position originally created by Thomas A. Jaggar, who founded HVO in 1912 and directed it until 1940. Ken follows recent […]
VOLCANO WATCH: Kīlauea’s South Flank, What’s Shaking?
Kīlauea’s south flank was the site of five earthquakes of magnitude 4.0 or greater in the past year.
Volcano Watch: Lava, Not Fire — but Island, Raft or Basalt Berg?
Words matter among volcanologists themselves, of course, but they particularly matter in our dealings with the public, when we attempt to both tell what is happening and educate about how volcanoes work.
VOLCANO WATCH: A Closer Look at Kīlauea’s Newest Lava
New eruptions at Kīlauea provide a glimpse into what is happening inside the volcano and its magma reservoirs.
Volcano Watch: How We Know How Much Sulfur Dioxide Volcanoes Emit
Volcanic gases are an important part of eruptions—they help magma to rise within the earth and erupt, they can tell us how much lava is being erupted, and the volcanic air pollution (vog) they cause can be a hazard.
Volcano Watch: New Tephra Lab For HVO Eruption Monitoring
Lava activity is confined to Halemaʻumaʻu with lava erupting from vents on the northwest side of the crater.
VOLCANO WATCH: Kīlauea’s Ongoing Eruption, A Rising Lava Lake
At approximately 3 a.m. HST on Dec. 26, activity at the west vent increased dramatically as the fountaining at the north vent died out.
