#Mauna Loa

Next time you listen to a scientist provide updates about ongoing volcanic activity, see a map showing locations of earthquakes or check the livestream cameras at Kīlauea summit for lava, take a moment to appreciate the team that works every day to keep the data flowing.

Magno, who navigated the Hawaiʻi Island response to volcanic eruptions from multiple volcanoes, the COVID-19 pandemic, fires, earthquakes, tsunami warnings, hurricanes and historic kona low storms, retires effective Aug. 1.

Kīlauea’s summit eruption could produce another episode of lava fountaining as early as this weekend, while a new survey of Mauna Loa shows the neighboring volcano continues to slowly inflate, according to the US Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. The observatory reported that Kīlauea has been erupting episodically within its summit caldera since Dec. 23, […]

April marked the 100-year anniversary of Mauna Loa’s 1926 Southwest Rift Zone eruption. This eruption is most remembered for the destruction of Ho‘ōpūloa village, a few miles north of Miloliʻi Bay. It also marks the first known instance of aerial photography of an advancing Hawaiian lava flow, and well-organized police-led eruption crowd management.

The base of Mauna Loa sitting on top of the old oceanic crust is only 6 miles below sea level, so the major magnitude-6.0 earthquake the night of Friday, May 22, happened deeper than the volcano — even deeper than the base of the ocean crust, which is bent downward by the weight of the Hawaiian Island chain.

Episode 47 of lava fountaining during the ongoing episodic summit eruption of the Big Island volcano tied the 1983-86 initial phase of the Pu‘u‘ō‘ō eruption on Kīlauea, which had a total of 47 events, for the most fountaining episodes ever recorded — so far — at the volcano; so how do these historic eruptions compare?

While researching Mauna Loa’s eruption patterns and lava flows through more satellite data, Ian Flynn is learning what information is needed to understand other volcanoes.

Maunaloa’s Volcano Alert Level is at Normal and Hawaiian Volcano Observatory expects to see changes such as increased seismicity or gas emissions before any future eruption; keeping a close eye on the volcanoes even during quiet times can teach important lessons that will inform interpretations and decisions as conditions change.

A magnitude-4.2 earthquake reported at 11:37 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 26, occurred 1 mile northwest of Pāhala on the Island of Hawaiʻi at a depth of 21 miles below sea level. Scientists with the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory say the earthquake was part of the ongoing deep swarm beneath Pāhala that began about 7 years ago and is not directly related to volcanic activity.

Kīlauea summit region has been remarkably quiet, from an earthquake standpoint, since the current eruption began on the night of Dec. 23, 2024. Since the end of episode 40 on the evening of Jan. 12, however, nearly a dozen small earthquake swarms have occurred involving earthquakes 1–2.5 miles beneath Halemaʻumaʻu and the summit caldera of Kīlauea.

Often spotted by onlookers in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, or even by YouTube livestream viewers, the long, ashy gray or brown, ropy cloud-like structures tend to appear near or downwind of active lava fountains. But what is it that we’re actually seeing? Twisters? Tornadoes? Whirlwinds? Lava-nadoes? Vol-nadoes? Tephra-nadoes?

The V3cam on the south rim of Kīlauea was buried under 50 feet of tephra, abruptly ending its livestream.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory has been busy tracking the continued growth of this young geologic feature, which is visible from public viewing areas around the summit within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

The 1975 Kalapana earthquake has ultimately changed the understanding of Kīlauea’s south flank, and the hazards associated with its movement.

The largest Hawaiʻi earthquake of the 20th century and so far in the 21st century happened 50 years ago this month; shaking as well as ground subsidence and a local tsunami contributed to a catastrophic sequence of events Nov. 29, 1975.

Recent episodes featured the highest lava fountains, the most volume of lava erupted, and the highest rate of lava effusion for this event, which has now lasted over 10 months. 

The resolution also commemorates the 69th anniversary of the Maunaloa Observatory and honors the cultural significance of Maunaloa itself to the Native Hawaiian community. The Hawaiʻi lawmakers introduced the resolution after the Trump Administration announced its plans to cancel the lease for several National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) facilities earlier this year, including an office needed to support the MLO.  

Recently spotted cracks in the delta demonstrate the instability of solid lava along the coastal edge; the new cracks are alarming and have led people to wonder what they mean.

Maunaloa is now quiet, so it’s a good opportunity to remember the 1950 Southwest Rift Zone eruption — the volcano’s most recent eruption to cause significant damage.

If you’ve been following the ongoing eruption of Kīlauea, you may have seen the terms “gas piston” or “gas pistoning” show up in some of the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) updates, photo captions, and other places.