Swarm of Quakes hit Island of Hawai

New information on the Natural Park´s Website

Majority of Park Remains Closed Due to Increased Seismic Activity

Park roads remain closed today with the exception of Crater Rim Drive between the park's entrance and Jaggar Museum. This closure will remain in effect until further notice.

I totally agree with them to be cautious.

I think the REAL reason behind this is that someone took something out of the park and SERIOUSLY pissed off Madam Pele.

I do really hope that it turns out to be a false alarm...

Here is a link to the USGS site for Pu`u `O`o Crater Activity. Cameras update every 5 minutes.
USGS Link
There has not been much to see other than a lot of steam.

The latest press release from USGS -
USGS Press Release

The latest map of epicenters and magnitudes -
Map

We were thinking about going to the "Big Island" for the holidays this year. Could be a cool show at the park this year. Last week it was in the news that there was a larger than normal eruption going on. I'd suppose this is interrelated.

It looks like Kilauea has been going off almost continuously for a long time now.

Quote from USGS article -

The caldera was the site of nearly continuous activity during the 19th century and the early part of this century. Since 1952 there have been 34 eruptions, and since January 1983 eruptive activity has been continuous along the east rift zone. All told, Kilauea ranks among the world's most active volcanoes and may even top the list.

This does not sound like anything unusual but it is very interesting anyway. Really interesting site.

[edit on 6/18/2007 by Blaine91555]

[edit on 6/18/2007 by Blaine91555]

I'm going to Hawaii in the end of August, but luckily not the big island.

I love the Big Island. It's amazing to go to the Park and see how much the volcano has changed the island. If you get out by the vent under the right conditions, you can see the hillside light up from the lava flowing just under the surface.

There was a pretty big earthquake in Mammoth the other day. It always peaks my interest when a big quake happens by a Caldera (Long Valley Caldera, Mammoth) that has been dormant for thousands of years. Scary stuff. I have watched the special on the Yellowstone caldera when it reenacts what would happen if the caldera in Yellowstone exploded. There would be know where to hide no matter what you wanted to do.

Quakes continue but not so often as on June, the 17th.

USGS

With regard to the Park

Park Reopens Crater Rim Drive and Kilauea Summit Trails. Chain of Craters Road Remains Closed

Crater Rim Drive, the road that circles the summit of Kilauea, was reopened this morning after an earthquake swarm yesterday prompted closure of much of the park as a precautionary measure. All summit area trails are also open.

Visitors have access to Kilauea Visitor Center, steam vents, sulphur bank, Jaggar Museum, Halema`uma`u, and Thurston Lava Tube (Nahuku). The Volcano House hotel, Volcano Art Center, and Kilauea Military Camp remain open and were not affected by earlier closures.

Chain of Craters Road and Kilauea's east rift zone remain closed to the public as the situation continues to be monitored.

Source: National Park

If they have reopened this area, they must be sure that the situation has stabilized and that there is not a high possibility of an eruption, which is good news.

Well, there's actually a very HIGH chance of eruption, just not in those areas. The vents are all well away from there, and more towards the ocean. I think there's one vent in that area, that steams a lot, but hasn't erupted in many years.

Source: Volcano Observatory

The earthquake swarm in the upper East Rift Zone of Kīlauea Volcano that started early Sunday morning, June 17, is continuing. Tremor at the summit area remains strong. The earthquake activity between Makaopuhi and Napau craters, farther east than where the earthquakes began, has slowed significantly in the past 12 hours.

All data indicate that an intrusion of magma started at shallow levels in the Mauna Ulu area early on June 17. The intrusion has moved eastward about 6 km (3.8 miles) along the rift zone during the ongoing activity.

Possibly no other consequence of the magma movement than the swarm of quakes... Or has it been building up for a major eruption in the future?

As mentioned before, Kilauea has been extremely active for a long time by now. It is worth keeping an eye on all this.

Originally posted by Zaphod58
Well, there's actually a very HIGH chance of eruption, just not in those areas...

That´s what I have been wondering Zaphod58, if all this magma could start erupting suddenly from a totally different place than the one expected.

A lot of pressure building up can have an explosive event...




[edit on 19-6-2007 by Ptolomeo]

There have been a few new vents over the years, but once you have a vent open, unless something pretty significant happens to change the flows the lava tends to use the same vents. I don't think there's ever been a massive eruption from Kilauea since it started erupting in 1983.

Can a massive eruption start with a swarm of quakes, then decrease the number of tremors and suddenly explode?

Shouldn´t they been checking some other data to confirm if Kilauea or another volcano in the area shows signs of more activity than before? Say for instance, gas emissions, surface deformation, cracks on the volcano´s surface?
What about the sulfur dioxide content in the mountain´s steam plumes?

They have a tiltmeter that measures the size of the volcano, and all of them at Kilauea are showing deflation in the area. Pu'u O'o is showing signs of steady deflation and it's down 20 meters.

Usually there's a slowdown of earthquakes just before an eruption, but there are other signs. If the tiltmeters are showing deflation, then I'd say the chance of a major eruption are pretty small. I'd say from the data that it's about to open a vent at Makaopuhi crater.

Deflation is good news.

Yes, there should not be an eruption. That must be the reason for the reopening of several places at the Park.

By the way, there was a 3.1 yesterday at Kilauea summit´s at 22:42:14
19.378N 155.244W
Depth: 1.7
5 km ( 3 mi) SE of Kilauea Summit

Source: USGS Hawaii

And on June the 17th a magnitude 4.0 around the same area.

Even though there are no signs of an eruption, these swarms are interesting. The whole area is active.



[edit on 19-6-2007 by Ptolomeo]

[edit on 19-6-2007 by Ptolomeo]

Look at how far down the floor of Pu'u O'o is already. I'm not surprised by all the activity. They're showing it down 20 METERS already.

Originally posted by Zaphod58
They have a tiltmeter that measures the size of the volcano, and all of them at Kilauea are showing deflation in the area. Pu'u O'o is showing signs of steady deflation and it's down 20 meters.

Usually there's a slowdown of earthquakes just before an eruption, but there are other signs. If the tiltmeters are showing deflation, then I'd say the chance of a major eruption are pretty small. I'd say from the data that it's about to open a vent at Makaopuhi crater.

Thanks Zaphod!

Here's a link to the Hawaii Craters, a list of most of them, I think...

Hawaii County, Hawaii Craters

This one I'm gonna watch.

[edit on 19-6-2007 by newtron25]

Thanks for the link Newtron25

Add the following link (if you haven´t), to your favourites:

All Earthquakes Located by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
USGS

Four miles of the Chain of Craters Road was closed due to a spike in sulfur dioxide levels. Levels are 10 times what would cause an evacuation of the Hawaii Volcano Observatory offices.

Halemau'mau Crater levels were measured at 10ppm. 1ppm causes an evacuation, and 2.5ppm has occasionally been seen. 10-15ppm can be fatal to people with asthma or other respiratory conditions, and dangerous for anyone.

In a statement, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory officials said there have been concentrations of the gas measured at more than 10 parts per million in the Halema'uma'u Crater area within the caldera during the past day. Under normal conditions, concentrations in small areas around the crater can reach 2.5 parts per million. But levels as low as 1 part per million prompt evacuation of offices and public areas around the volcano, the observatory said.

"High sulfur dioxide concentrations have been blamed for several fatalities, many amongst those having a history of asthma. The International Volcanic Health Hazard Network has compiled several studies indicating that 10 to 15 parts per million concentrations of sulfur dioxide is a threshold of toxicity for prolonged exposure," the observatory said in its statement.

The observatory cited the health hazard network Web site, www.esc.cam.ac.uk/ivhhn/guidelines/gas/so2.html, which includes this list of impacts from the gas: "Sulphur dioxide is irritating to the eyes, throat and respiratory tract. Short-term overexposure causes inflammation and irritation, resulting in burning of the eyes, coughing, difficulty in breathing and a feeling of chest tightness."

In the presence of moisture — from the air or in the lungs — sulfur dioxide can turn into an acid. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, at its Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry Web site, says, "Inhaled sulfur dioxide readily reacts with the moisture of mucous membranes to form sulfurous acid (H2SO3), which is a severe irritant."

the.honoluluadvertiser.com...

In another development 250,000 cubic yards of lava is "missing" from the volcano. There was a brief eruption either Monday or early Tuesday but it has stopped. It only made it 150 feet from where it came to the surface. It was moving sluggishly at 6:45am and had stopped by 11am. There is a fear that it will begin erupting at Kane Nui o Hamo, which would threaten rain forests in the area, including the 2,500-acre East Rift Rainforest Special Ecological Area, a forest protected from invasive, non-native plants and animals.

[edit on 6/20/2007 by Zaphod58]

Hawaii Vulcano Observatory

The crater floor and parts of the west flank of Pu`u `O`o vent collapsed more than 20 m in a piecemeal fashion. Little or no lava was entering the well-established lava tube system on June 18, 19, and 20. Increased fume in the crater is making detailed observations of the collapse more difficult.

This is what worries me most:

Scientists measured extremely high concentrations of sulfur dioxide gas at the volcano's summit in a broad area adjacent to Halema`uma`u Crater. Concentrations are more than 10 times higher the concentration used to close visitor centers in the park and advise visitors to relocate to areas with cleaner air.

Quakes have decreased, but volcano activity can increase suddenly.

According to the National Park´s website:

Rangers will be interpreting the June 18-19 new lava outbreak in the upper East Rift Zone at six location in the Park: Steam Vents, Kilauea Iki, Thurston Lava Tube, Devastation Trail, Jaggar Museum, and Kilauea Visitor Center. Rangers are roving the Kilauea Summit to talk to visitors.

Source: National Park

There is still something to watch at Kilauea.