Hawaiian Volcano Update: Kīlauea Iki Anniversary As Kīlauea Quiets, November 14, 2024

Kīlauea continued to refill quietly this past week, with reduced earthquakes and slowly inflating ground-tilt similar to the previous week in the Upper East Rift connector and near the recent eruption site at Nāpau. Given the relative slowdown, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory has shifted from daily to weekly updates for Kīlauea. Underwater to the south, Kamaʻehuakanaloa volcano (formerly known as Lōʻihi) also remained quiety following the previous week’s fanfare. Gas emissions are still low, around the volcanic background at 60 tonnes of SO2 per day, but are still the greatest volcanic threat to people, especially those with respiratory sensitivities. Neighboring Maunaloa continues its refilling pattern with background levels of earthquakes following the 2022 eruption. USGS crews recently restored Maunaloa webcams following equipment damage due to high winds.

This week we focus on the 65th anniversary of Kīlauea Iki’s grand eruption which began on November 14, 1959, through two videos. After reviewing short video clips placed within the landscape of Kīlauea Iki, we begin with the classic film “Discovery 67” by United Airlines which includes eruption footage from the 1950s and 60s. A rare inclusion is imagery of the drilling of Kīlauea Iki’s lava lake following the eruption, complete with the cable trolley used to ferry equipment down from the crater rim. Our second feature video is an edit of Don Swanson’s presentation on “The 1959 Kīlauea Iki eruption: what we know and still don’t know 60 years later,” originally recorded on the anniverary 5 years ago as part of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park’s After Dark in the Park series.

As usual, we summarize 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.