Hawaiian Volcano Update: Kīlauea’s Middle East Rift Filling, August 15, 2024
Another week on Kīlauea has brought more filling of its summit and East Rift, although ground deformation has spread further and now registers on stations around Puʻu’ōʻō. The center of inflation is still west of Puʻuʻōʻō, with magma “accumulating beneath the ground in the area of Makaopuhi Crater and Napau Crater, a well-known magma storage region in Kīlauea’s remote middle East Rift Zone” according to the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. This filling is relatively passive with few earthquakes nearby; rather, earthquakes over the past week have been most abundant in the area between Puhimau Crater and Devil’s Throat in the Upper East Rift, which likely feeds magma downrift. For now, the dynamic growth of Kīlauea’s active magma system into the Middle East Rift is progressing quietly, though renewed earthquake pulses and other activity remain possible at any time.
All of this action is within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, posing no increased threat to people. Volcanic gas remains the primary threat to people, with emissions currently around volcanic background rates of 70 tonnes per day of SO2, still of concern for sensitive individuals nearby.
Maunaloa volcano remains quiet, continuing to recharge in the normal pattern following its 2022 eruption, with perhaps only minor visible influence from neighboring Kīlauea combining with the long-term pattern of recharge.
As a special this week, we will look back at the ending sequence of the 2018 eruption, which included the formation of a new beach around Pohoiki, the arrival of an offshore hurricane, and the shutoff of Ahuʻailāʻau (Fissure 8). We also have some information about the proposed improvements to Isaac Hale Beach Park that is now in public review.
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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