Hawaiian Volcano Update: Kīlauea Quiets Again; Maunaloa End Phase Anniversary - December 12, 2024

This past week, Kīlauea’s earthquake rates decreased to less than half of what they were the previous week, concentrating mostly under the southern edge of the volcano’s summit. Deformation rates at the summit have also cycled down at the same time, with greatly reduced ground tilting as well as a change from extension to contraction across its caldera, Kaluapele. Slow inflation persists in the South Caldera and on the East Rift Connector near Maunaulu, as magma continues to feed into these storage areas, but less so between the recent eruption site near Nāpau and Makaopuhi craters, where ground-tilt was actively moving during the prior two weeks. 

Further downrift, Puʻuʻōʻō crater also shows little change, meaning the activity is fully contained within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park and poses no increased threat to people at this time. Volcanic gas is currently the greatest volcanic threat, especially for those with respiratory sensitivities. Gas emissions are present at low levels from the summit, around the volcanic background at 70 tonnes of SO2 per day.

As Maunaloa marks the end of its 2-year eruption anniversary, the volcano is quieter than average during its pattern of refilling, similar to other temporary slowdowns over the past year. In commemoration of the 2-year milestone, we dive into the end phase of the 2022 eruption, as Fissure 3 produced higher lava fountains before shutting off completely. In the meantime, the lava level began to drop as surges made their way downhill through emptying channels, eventually dimming all flows and glow as the eruption came to an end. We review time-lapses & coverage of the eruption including stream highlights & personal accounts, leaving the final chapter of Kīlauea’s response to Maunaloa’s eruption for next week. Examining these details allows us to improve our response and better anticipate public issues during future eruptions, keeping our island communities safe.

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. 

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