HVO/USGS Volcanic Activity Notice Volcano: Kilauea (VNUM #332010)
HVO/USGS Volcanic Activity Notice
Volcano: Kilauea (VNUM #332010)
Current Volcano Alert Level: ADVISORY
Previous Volcano Alert Level: WATCH
Current Aviation Color Code: YELLOW
Previous Aviation Color Code: ORANGE
Issued: Tuesday, July 23, 2024, 9:04 AM HST
Source: Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
Notice Number: 2024/H248
Location: N 19 deg 25 min W 155 deg 17 min
Elevation: 4091 ft (1247 m)
Area: Hawaii
Volcanic Activity Summary:
Kīlauea is not erupting. Localized earthquake and ground deformation rates in Kīlauea’s upper East Rift Zone decreased significantly following the burst of intense activity at approximately 3:30 a.m. HST on July 23, 2024. Accordingly, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) is lowering the Volcano Alert Level for ground-based hazards from WATCH to ADVISORY and the Aviation Color Code from ORANGE to YELLOW.
Earthquake activity this morning was centered near Pauahi Crater in the upper East Rift Zone, along Chain of Craters Road in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. More than 100 events occurred between 3:00–9:00 a.m. HST this morning, at depths of 1–3 km (0.6–1.8 miles) beneath the surface. Most events were smaller than magnitude-3, though there were 8 events larger. 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.
The onset of this morning’s upper East Rift Zone swarm was similar in intensity to that seen preceding Kīlauea summit eruptions of the past few years. This coupled with the sharp displacement on the ESC tiltmeter and strong clustering of these earthquakes in the area beneath Pauahi Crater suggests that an intrusion of magma began at 3:30 this morning. The region around Pauahi Crater has a long history of intrusive and eruptive activity. The pulsing nature of this activity may represent stages in intrusive activity beneath this region in the past 24 hours. Additional seismic pulses or swarms may occur with little or no warning and result in either continued intrusion of magma or eruption of lava.
