Hawaiian Volcano Update: Kīlauea Still Swelling

Magma is still entering Kīlauea's shallow system and causing its ground surface to swell, maintaining the prognosis that further intrusion, resumption or a new eruption around the summit are still imminently possible. There is no sign of magma movement outside the summit, and no increased concern for local communities at this time. No changes of note on Maunaloa and no cause for increased concern there as well. Since the earthquake flurry one week ago, seismicity has remained slightly elevated around Kīlauea's summit, with three of the past four days exceeding 80 events. While not extraordinary, these daily counts are still higher than any over the previous month, and accordingly has prompted the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory to issue a Status Report today announcing a return to daily Kīlauea updates. Ground tilt continues to climb slowly from last week's high, despite interruption by deflation-inflation cycles, and following a possible intrusion offset from April 10-11. GPS stations around the summit have resumed rising and moving away from the swelling source beneath Halemaʻumaʻu crater. Gas emissions still register at a low background level of 110 tons of SO2 per day, continuing limited vog impact around nearby communities, but also suggesting magma has not reached the shallowest parts of the volcano. As usual, our live presentation reviews the recent changes using webcam timelapses, monitoring data and reports courtesy of the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, annotated on-screen, and we discuss live viewer questions. https://youtube.com/live/ZQQOdERXjJk