Hawaiian Volcano Update: Small Kīlauea Intrusion, Maunaloa Downgraded

While surface activity has remained paused over the past week on Kīlauea, monitoring instruments detected a small intrusion of magma beneath the summit accompanied by a brief earthquake swarm and ground-tilt deviations. Compared to recent intrusions in September 2022, August 2021, and December 2020, the March 11, 2023 event barely registered, but may be significant in revealing that magma did not easily return to the surface through recent pathways. Signals have remained quiet since, returning to background levels of seismicity and deformation, with gas output still remaining low. However, even at low levels vog remains the primary volcanic hazard for nearby island communities. There is still no sign of magma movement in the rift zones, and no cause for additional concern. For the first time, USGS scientists landed by helicopter on the central island that protrudes above the crusted crater floor, the same island that originally formed in the opening phase of the December 2020 eruption when lava vaporized the water pond that had collected in the post-2018 collapse pit. The ongoing filling of the crater has lapped onto the island over time, so only a fraction of its original footprint remains. Taking advantage of optimal conditions, scientists were able to examine and document the various lava deposits to gain a better understanding of the island's dynamics over the past few years. On Maunaloa, 3 months have passed since the end of the 2022 eruption, and accordingly the USGS has lowered the volcano's alert levels from Advisory/Yellow to Normal/Green. Inflation suggests the volcano continues to refill with magma following the eruption, but without accompanying seismicity that would suggest pressurization building to another outburst. In short, no surprises and no major changes on Maunaloa, and the normal alert downgrades have ensued. As usual, we review the recent changes using webcam timelapses, photos, videos and reports courtesy of the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, annotate the presentation on-screen, and discuss live viewer questions. https://youtube.com/live/e1eMP1iGPz4