Warning level for Kilauea volcano is set back to “READY”

(BIVN) – Kīlauea is not erupting and after a brief increase in the USGS warning level to “WATCH”, the status of the volcano on the Hawaiian island has been reset to “ADVISORY”.

The Aviation Color Code was also reduced from ORANGE to YELLOW.

Local earthquake and ground deformation rates in Kīlauea’s upper East Rift Zone declined significantly following the “burst of intense activity” that occurred early Tuesday morning.

Seismicity remains elevated, scientists warn, explaining that the “pulsating nature of this activity could represent phases of intrusive activity beneath the upper region of the eastern rift zone.”

“Additional seismic pulses or swarms could occur with little or no warning and result in either further magma intrusion or an eruption of lava,” the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said.

The observatory said field teams surveyed the Chain of Craters Road in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park this morning and found no major cracks consistent with recent activity.

From the USGS HVO activity report released at 9:04 a.m. HST:

The center of earthquake activity this morning was near Pauahi Crater in the upper East Rift Zone along the Chain of Craters Road in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. More than 100 events occurred this morning between 3:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. HST at depths of 1–3 km (0.6–1.8 mi) below the surface. Most events were less than magnitude 3, but there were 8 events larger. The largest event had a magnitude of 3.4. The earthquake activity was accompanied by an abrupt change in ground deformation patterns in the upper East Rift Zone, as indicated by the ESC inclinometer. Inclinometers in the summit region of Kīlauea (SDH, southwest of the summit, and UWE, northwest of the summit instruments) showed no significant changes associated with this activity.

USGS: “This reference map shows the features of the upper eastern rift zone of Kīlauea. The Chain of Craters Road in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park follows the trend of the upper eastern rift zone. Pit craters, thermal areas, and lava flows attest to a long history of magma movement along this rift zone trend. Eruptions of the upper eastern rift zone typically occurred near the southeastern rim of Kaluapele or where the upper eastern rift zone meets the middle eastern rift zone near Pauahi crater.”

This morning’s eruption of the upper East Rift Zone earthquake swarm was of similar intensity to that preceding Kīlauea summit eruptions in recent years. This, combined with the large shift on the ESC inclinometer and the strong clustering of these earthquakes in the area beneath Pauahi Crater, suggests that magma intrusion began at 3:30 AM this morning. The region surrounding Pauahi Crater has a long history of intrusive and eruptive activity. The pulsating nature of this activity may represent phases of intrusive activity beneath this region over the past 24 hours. Additional seismic pulses or swarms may occur with little or no warning, leading to either continued magma intrusion or a lava eruption.