Hawai'i Volcano Blog

The park reminds motorists to drive safely and obey all posted speed limitss. Motorcyclists especially should use extra caution and expect bumps and rough road conditions.

The current volcanic activity is within the national park boundaries and does not present a threat outside the park. and does not pose a threat outside of the park.

Monitoring and understanding the lake was important because the presence of water increased the possibility of violent phreatic (steam-driven) explosions once Kīlauea erupted again, as there have been such eruptions in Kīlauea’s past.

HVO’s summit location was ideal for monitoring Kīlauea and Mauna Loa, Hawaiʻi’s two most active volcanoes.

The observatory’s tower on the edge of the Kīlauea caldera inside Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park will be demolished today after work was postponed from Thursday. It is the last remnants of the former observatory and museum complex that was closed after it was damaged beyond repair in 2018 during the 2018 eruption, lava flow and summit eruption of the Big Island volcano.

Earthquakes began at a low rate in the UERZ within a few days after the June 3 eruption.

According to Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, the seismicity and elevated ground deformation rates suggests magma may be slowly moving out of the summit storage region.

Future eruptions are possible with little warning along the upper portions of Kīlauea’s East Rift Zone.

“The pulsing nature of this activity may represent stages in intrusive activity beneath the upper East Rift Zone region. Additional seismic pulses or swarms may occur with little or no warning and result in either continued intrusion of magma or eruption of lava.” — Hawaiian Volcano Observatory officials

Measurement of volcanic gases is critical for both public safety and understanding volcanic activity—and everything we measure relies on the wind.

With the assistance of a helicopter, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists are working to upgrade a sesimic monitoring station on hardened black lava covering the crater floor near Uēaloha (Byron Ledge) of Kīlauea.

From subtle shakes that feel like wind to abrupt jolting that knocks dishes off the counter, living on this volcanically active island means accepting that the ground beneath our feet will not always keep still.

Their mission was to remove temporary webcams deployed during a recent eruption and move them to nearby Cone Peak.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported this morning that quake counts from the past 24 hours beneath the caldera and upper East Rift Zone decreased by about 65%.

There were about 50 quakes beneath the volcano’s summit and 100 under the upper East Rift Zone compared with 20 and 50 the day before.

Over the past 24 hours, there were approximately 25 earthquakes detected beneath Kaluapele (Kīlauea caldera) and 95 earthquakes detected beneath the Upper East Rift Zone, mostly at depths of 0.6–1.8 miles beneath the ground surface.

As you turn left off Crater Rim Drive onto Chain of Craters Road, you pass by craters, thermal areas, and lava flows that showcase past volcanic activity in this area.

While there are no signs of an imminent eruption, the largest of these earthquakes were four magnitude-3.0 events near the intersection between Chain of Craters Road and Hilina Pali Road in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

The Big Island volcano is not erupting, but that seismic activity during the past day is more than triple the rate from several days ago.

Ed was a natural and gifted problem solver, and he worked closely with observatory staff to understand their challenges and needs.