USGS Explains Maunaloa's Heightened Unrest

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory comments from the Pāhala Status Update and Community Discussion public meeting held on October 27, 2022. Research geologist Frank Trusdell discusses Maunaloa's heightened unrest: "Just over 3 weeks ago we had a flurry of earthquakes that made us say, hey, the volcano is doing something above these background levels and we should start paying attention more. And so we decided that we would go out and let you all know that the volcano is showing a little bit more activity than what we"ve seen in the past, the period just before this. So we're watching, but we also want to be transparent and let you know that we're watching, but the volcano was also doing something slightly different." "So what are we missing to forecast an impending eruption? Well, we would expect to see more consistent and persistent seismicity. Instead of now the earthquakes have kind of rolled off, we expect that to just keep climbing, and climbing, and climbing. We also expect to see the rates of deformation, increasing rates of seismic activity, and the extension across the volcano to go increasing. So what's happening? We have small inflation, and we have seismicity above background. The important point is that we're monitoring, we're being vigilant." "So the take-home message is you should be aware of the hazards, stay informed, and because the volcano is swelling, an eruption is not imminent, not at this point in time." #Maunaloa #Maunaloa2022 — Note: We use the preferred spelling of the volcano by the local community as “Maunaloa”, though it has not yet been formally adopted by either the State or Federal Board of Geographic Names who still officially refer to it as “Mauna Loa”. This follows in the same spirit as the spelling of “Maunakea” gaining broader acceptance. — Join our weekly live video review of Kīlauea and Maunaloa volcanoes, at 5pm Hawaiʻi time Thursdays! To support our productions (for free) please like, share and subscribe! This content is funded by the Hawaiʻi County Waiwai Grant-In-Aid in association with Malama O Puna and by contributions from viewers like you! To donate, visit https://www.hawaiitracker.com/support. Mahalo! https://youtu.be/DVa2YU5VS6s