#magma

When magma moves into the rift zone of a Hawaiian volcano, there is understandably a lot of excitement and apprehension. How far will the magma go? Will it erupt? But even long after the activity stops — regardless of whether it erupts — the subsurface magma continues to have a noticeable impact on the landscape.

Captivating lava fountains burst from either one or both of the vents during each eruptive episode. However, as fascinating as those episodes are, scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory are equally as interested in what’s happening beneath the surface between episodes.

Like fortune tellers who peer into a crystal ball for insight, volcanologists at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory peer into the tiny crystals contained in lava flows to learn about the magma’s journey before it was erupted onto the surface. 

Data from 115 seismic nodes deployed in late June across the East Rift Zone of the Big Island’s Kīlauea volcano, fortuitously before significant unrest began, will be used to image the location and volume of magma within the region at a level of detail not previously possible.

There were about 50 quakes beneath the volcano’s summit and 100 under the upper East Rift Zone compared with 20 and 50 the day before.

Magma continues to pressurize the system beneath Halemaʻumaʻu and the south side of Kalaupele and Keanakākoʻi crater, activating seismicity along faults in the upper East Rift Zone. At this time, it is not possible to say whether this increase in activity will lead to an intrusion or eruption soon or simply continue as seismic unrest at depth.

A 3.8 magnitude earthquake reported just before midnight on Sunday May 7, 2023 in Pāhala on Hawaiʻi Island, was part of a swarm of earthquakes that has been occurring in the region since 2019. Scientist with the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory say these quakes may be related to deep transport of magma in the hotspot beneath the Island of Hawaiʻi, but pose no volcanic threat to residents.