Hawaiian Volcano Update: Kīlauea’s Upper East Rift Fills After Repeat Intrusion, August 29, 2024

Following the second intrusion in two months between Pauahi Crater and Maunaulu, Kīlauea appears to be slowly repressurizing primarily uprift of the bend in its Upper East Rift. At the same time, the volcano’s flank south of Puʻuʻōʻō continues to move seaward at a quickened pace, even as a slowdown appears in the filling of the nearby Makaopuhi magma reservoir on the Middle East Rift. The renewal of the pathway between Kīlauea’s summit and East Rift continues through these pulses of refilling with periodic larger magma migrations, which could still happen at any time to produce further intrusions or an eruption. South flank motion and earthquakes add to the dynamic, widening some magma pathways and redistributing underground pressure which eases the progression.

Hurricane Hone’s nearby pass to the island last weekend brought two days of heavy rain, which was noted by the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory to have influenced the tiltmeter signals at Pu’uʻōʻō, Uēkahuna and Sand Hill. Earthquake counts cycled up briefly during the tail end of the storm, whether due to a filling pulse or the potential effect of water on moving faults, before winding back down after a couple of days. Generally, Kīlauea’s summit continues its long-term swelling and inflation as it also accomodates more and more magma. Its degassing remains mild around 75 tonnes of SO2 per day, which although below its long-term background rate still poses the greatest volcanic threat to people at present, especially of concern to sensitive individuals nearby. All the recent activity remains within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, and poses no increased threat to people or to communities in the Lower East Rift Zone. According to USGS-HVO, “there are no signs of imminent eruption at this time.”

Maunaloa volcano continuing to recharge in a normal quiet pattern following its 2022 eruption. Its signals also may have been affected by the recent weather and adjustments from neighboring Kīlauea, but show nothing unexpected.

As a special this week, we revisit the 1961 and 1962 Kīlauea East Rift eruptions. These are another 2 of the 9 Middle East Rift eruptions which characterized the 1960s between the Kapoho and Maunaulu eruption, following on our anniversary coverage of the August 1963 & 1968 eruptions. Combined with Southwest Rift intrusions and the summit eruption of 1967-68, this historical period could inform potential outcomes of our current activity.

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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