Prolonged rainfall triggered Kilauea eruption, study finds

It was excessive and prolonged rainfall that triggered the 2018 eruption of Kilauea Volcano, according to new research due out today.

The study, published in the journal Nature, says nearly 90 inches of rain fell on Kilauea in the first quarter of 2018, leaving the volcano’s subsurface rock weakened and more vulnerable to eruption.

“Under pressure from magma, wet rock breaks easier than dry rock. It is as simple as that,” said Falk Amelung, professor of geophysics at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School and co-author of the study along with UM researcher Jamie Farquharson.

https://www.staradvertiser.com/2020/04/22/hawaii-news/prolonged-rainfall-triggered-kilauea-eruption-study-finds/