USGS Volcano Notice - DOI-USGS-HVO-2024-07-23T19:34:14+00:00

Activity Summary: Kīlauea is not erupting. Localized earthquake and ground deformation rates in Kīlauea’s upper East Rift Zone increased significantly twice in the past 24 hours, prompting a Status Report and brief alert level change. As of this morning, seismicity and ground deformation rates have decreased but remain elevated. The pulsing nature of this activity may represent stages in intrusive activity beneath the upper East Rift Zone region. Additional seismic pulses or swarms may occur with little or no warning and result in either continued intrusion of magma or eruption of lava.

Summit and Upper Rift Zone Observations: Over the past 24 hours, there were approximately 50 earthquakes detected beneath Kīlauea’s summit and approximately 357 earthquakes detected beneath the upper East Rift Zone, mostly at depths of 0–4 km (0.0–2.5 mi) beneath the ground surface. The most significant increase in earthquake counts was observed beneath the upper East Rift Zone with three times the 111 events detected beneath the upper East Rift Zone in the previous 24 hours. Most events were smaller than magnitude-2, but there were 13 earthquakes magnitude-3 or higher in the upper East Rift Zone. The largest event was a magnitude-3.4. Earthquake activity was accompanied by an abrupt change in ground deformation patterns in the upper East Rift Zone, shown by the ESC tiltmeter. Tiltmeters in Kīlauea summit region (instruments SDH, southwest of the summit, and UWE, northwest of the summit) did not show significant changes associated with this activity. GPS instruments around the summit region continue to show longer-term, gradual inflation since the end of the June 3, 2024, eruption. The most recent measurement of the summit's SO₂ emission rate was approximately 100 tonnes per day on July 17, 2024.

HVO field crews examined Chain of Craters Road in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park this morning and did not observe any major cracks associated with the recent activity.

Middle and Lower Rift Zone Observations:  Rates of seismicity and ground deformation beneath the middle and lower East Rift Zone and lower Southwest Rift Zone remain low. Recent eruptive activity and ongoing unrest have been restricted to the summit and upper rift zone regions. Measurements from continuous gas monitoring stations downwind of Puʻuʻōʻō in the middle East Rift Zone—the site of 1983–2018 eruptive activity—remain below detection limits for SO₂, indicating that SO₂ emissions from Puʻuʻōʻō are negligible.

Analysis:  Magma has been repressurizing the summit storage system, activating pulses of earthquakes in the caldera south of Halemaʻumaʻu and in the upper East Rift Zone. The pulsing nature of recent activity may represent stages in intrusive activity beneath the upper East Rift Zone region. Additional seismic pulses or swarms may occur with little or no warning and result in either continued intrusion of magma or eruption of lava. Changes in the character and location of unrest can occur quickly, as can the potential for eruption, but there are no signs of an imminent eruption at this time.

Updates:  The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) will continue to provide daily updates for Kīlauea volcano. Should volcanic activity change significantly, a Volcanic Activity Notice will be issued. HVO is in close contact with Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Temporary closures have been implemented as a result of this elevated activity: https://www.nps.gov/havo/learn/news/20240722-earthquakes.htm  

Recent Eruption Information:  Kīlauea erupted briefly on June 3, 2024, southwest of the summit region within a closed area of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. For more information about this eruption, see this webpage: https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/science/june-2024-kilauea-southwest-rift-zone-eruption.

Hazards:  Shallow magma movement can produce minor to severe ground fractures and subsidence features, which can affect the landscape, human activity, and infrastructure. These ground cracks can continue to widen and offset as magma migration continues, may have unstable overhanging edges, and should be avoided. 

Hazards remain around Kīlauea caldera from Halemaʻumaʻu crater wall instability, ground cracking, and rockfalls that can be enhanced by earthquakes within the area closed to the public. This underscores the extremely hazardous nature of the rim surrounding Halemaʻumaʻu crater, an area that has been closed to the public since early 2008.

Near the recent Southwest Rift Zone eruption site, minor to severe ground fractures and subsidence features may continue to widen and offset, may have unstable overhanging edges, and should be avoided. Hazards associated with the recent lava flows include glassy (sharp) surfaces that can cause serious abrasions, and lacerations upon contact with unprotected or exposed skin; uneven and rough terrain that can lead to falls and other injuries; or, locally elevated levels of volcanic gases that can lead to breathing difficulty.

For discussion of Kīlauea hazards, please see: https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hawaiian-volcano-observatory/hazards.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) continues to closely monitor Kīlauea Volcano.

Please see the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park website for visitor information: https://www.nps.gov/havo/index.htm.