Hawaiian Volcano Update: Kīlauea East Rift Earthquakes Cycle Down, October 30, 2024

Following last week’s ramp-up in earthquakes on Kīlauea’s East Rift near the recent eruption at Nāpau, seismic rates decreased at the start of this week. This resumes the pattern of earthquake pulses that preceded the recent eruption, as magma continues to be injected underground into the region. This week, inflation appears more evident at the summit while ground tilt between Maunaulu to the west of Puʻu’ōʻō looks to have stabilized, also matching the pattern of alternate filling centers seen in recent months. Within that context, the volcano continues to recharge with magma across multiple storage areas following its recent eruption, and seems likely to continue to do so until it is primed for another intrusion or eruption.

Gas emissions have remained around the volcanic background near 60 tonnes of SO2 per day, still the greatest volcanic threat to people, especially those with respiratory sensitivities. Neighboring Maunaloa continues its refilling pattern with fewer earthquakes than last week as it recovers following the 2022 eruption.

Next week’s election day, November 5, marks the 57th anniversary of the start of Kīlauea’s 1967-68 eruption. In offering an alternative focus, we review that nearly 9-month summit eruption that interrupted the sequence of 9 East Rift eruptions during the 1960s. This complements our earlier series on those East Rift eruptions as potential scenarios that could occur as we experience similar conditions today. That long-lived lava lake was Kīlauea’s last before the summit sequence which began in 2008, and consisted of 31 separate phases with short pauses in between. Historical imagery shows similar features as the summit lava lakes in recent years, including perched ponds, floating islands, and ooze-up flows. Given the parallels in activity, it would not be surprising to see Kīlauea’s summit reactivate within our current sequence, though there are no signs this is imminent.

As usual, we review the monitoring signals, imagery, and reports available courtesy of the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, annotating the presentation on screen as we go and discussing live viewer questions. 

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