USGS Volcano Notice - DOI-USGS-HVO-2024-09-15T16:47:52+00:00

Activity Summary: Kīlauea is not erupting. Seismicity and deformation increased dramatically at 6 p.m. yesterday in the middle East Rift Zone just northwest of Makaopuhi Crater indicating intrusion of magma beneath this area. Activity has continued to decrease in intensity overnight, but continues at lower levels this morning.  Renewed episodes of unrest in the upper to middle East Rift Zone are possible and may evolve quickly. 

Summit Observations: Seismometers detected 40 earthquakes beneath Kīlauea’s broader summit region over the past day, including a magnitude 4.3 earthquake at 4:25 p.m. yesterday, September 14.  Most were at depths between 1 km - 3 km (0.6 mi - 1.9 mi) below the surface. The Uēkahuna tiltmeter at the summit began recording significant deflation around 7 p.m. yesterday, about an hour after the seismic swarm began in the middle East Rift Zone yesterday. By this morning, the tiltmeter recorded about 7 microradians of deflation related to the middle East Rift zone event.The most recent measurement of SO₂ emission rate was 75 tonnes per day on August 20, 2024. 

Rift Zone Observations: Just after 6 p.m. yesterday (September 14) a seismic swarm began in the middle East Rift Zone (MERZ) accompanied by inflationary tilt recorded on the Escape Road (ESC) and Puʻuʻōʻō cone (POC) tiltmeters (Kīlauea Status Report — Middle East Rift Zone Unrest | U.S. Geological Survey (usgs.gov)).  The combined seismicity and deformation patterns suggest that a dike was emplaced in the region just northwest of Makaopuhi Crater where an Interferometric SAR (InSAR) image spanning from August 28 to September 12, had identified uplift.  There have been 280 earthquakes recorded in this area in the last 24 hours, with most occurring since 6 p.m. last night when activity peaked at 30 earthquakes per hour.  By this morning, the size of earthquakes has decreased, but pulses of up to 25 earthquakes per hour continue. Local deformation recorded at the ESC and POC tiltmeters slowed significantly by 4 a.m. this morning with little deformation recorded since then.

Activity in other parts of the East Rift Zone to the east or downrift of Puʻuʻōʻō (the site of 1983–2018 eruptive activity) remains low. GPS instruments have recorded periods of inflation in portions of the middle East Rift Zone (MERZ) uprift of Puʻuʻōʻō during the past month. Measurements from continuous gas monitoring stations downwind of Puʻuʻōʻō in the MERZ remain below detection limits for SO₂, indicating that SO₂ emissions from this area are negligible. 

Analysis: The current MERZ intrusion and unrest indicates that magma continues to be supplied to this area in multiple localities.  This event follows an intrusive event that  occurred near Pauahi Crater over July 22–25, 2024, and another intrusive event happened near the same vicinity on August 20, 2024. The current intrusive activity represents the furthest eastward shallow intrusive activity with deeper activity occurring between Makaopuhi Crater and Puʻuʻōʻō during the past month.  Shallow intrusions like this event could lead to a short-lived eruption, but historically eruptions make up only about 10% of the events recorded in this region.  While the current activity has decreased since yesterday, renewed or new activity remains possible and may evolve quickly.

A reference map of the UERZ is available here: https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/kilauea-upper-east-rift-zone-reference-map   

A reference map of the MERZ is available here: https://www.usgs.gov/maps/kilauea-middle-east-rift-zone-reference-map  

For more information about the meaning of volcano alert levels and aviation color codes, see https://www.usgs.gov/programs/VHP/volcanic-alert-levels-characterize-conditions-us-volcanoes.  

Updates: The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory is watching the situation closely and is in close contact with Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Additional messages will be issued as needed. Currently, there are no signs of an imminent eruption; however, conditions could change quickly.  

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. The Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park website will have information about any temporary closures: https://www.nps.gov/havo/learn/news/newsreleases.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.