USGS Volcano Notice - DOI-USGS-HVO-2024-07-12T18:08:16+00:00

Activity Summary: No significant change; Kīlauea volcano is not erupting. Earthquake activity has remained elevated beneath Kalueapele and has increased beneath the Upper East Rift Zone over the past 24 hours. Gradual inflation of the summit and upper rift zones continues. Substantial increases in seismicity and/or deformation could result in a new eruptive episode, but presently there are no signs of imminent eruption.

Summit and Upper Rift Zone Observations:   Over the past 24 hours, there were approximately 50 earthquakes detected beneath Kaluapele (Kīlauea caldera) and 118 earthquakes detected beneath the upper East Rift Zone, mostly at depths of 0–2 km (0.0–1.2 mi) beneath the ground surface. Counts remained approximately constant beneath Kaluapele and increased in the upper East Rift Zone compared to the previous day (during which there were 54 events detected beneath the summit and 31 events detected beneath the upper East Rift Zone). All earthquake counts are well below the counts recorded during the June 27–July 1 upper East Rift Zone swarm. All events were smaller than M3 earthquakes in the summit region. Tiltmeters in Kīlauea summit region (instruments SDH, southwest of the summit, and UWE, northwest of the summit) show longer-term minor increases in inflationary ground deformation rates over the past day. 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 61 tonnes per day on July 9, 2024.

A map interferogram showing recent deformation at Kīlauea over the timeframe of June 6 to July 8, 2024, is available here: https://www.usgs.gov/maps/july-8-2024-insar-image-kilauea-ground-deformation 

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:  Following the eruption on June 3, 2024, magma has been repressurizing the storage system beneath Halemaʻumaʻu and the south caldera region, activating earthquakes in the caldera south of Halemaʻumaʻu and in the upper East Rift Zone. At this time, it is not possible to say whether this activity will lead to an intrusion or eruption in the near future, or simply continue as seismic unrest at depth. 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.

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.

Monitoring Notices:  The V1cam, located on the northwest rim of Kaluapele, has been repeaired by HVO scientists. On July 9, HVO scientists remotely re-leveled the SDH tiltmeter located southwest of Kīlauea summit in Hawai’I Volcanoes National Park. This work is the result of the instrument reaching the edge of its scale range, having recorded over 250 microradians of deformation since it was last re-leveled in October 2023. Unusable, offscale data between July 3 and July 9 have been removed from the timeseries plots. Unlike an analog tiltmeter, which must be manually re-leveled and requires several weeks to settle, the digital SDH tiltmeter does not require a settling period. Data are quantitively useable and an offset has been corrected with manual adjustments to better align the new data to old trends, providing a better long term representation of tilt deformation.

Hazards:  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.