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98257
From: eaamon, [DNS_Address]
Subject: first Yellowstone now Hawaii
URL: one of 44 quakes
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in about the last 24 hours there have been 44 quakes at volcano in Hawaii M 3.9 - 7 km S of Volcano, Hawaii. it too is on a hot spot like the one under Yellowstone NP. incident earlier. further signs the hot spots both may be moving. not to mention the swarm under Lake Tahoe.... |
98260
From: ao, [DNS_Address]
Subject: About the current EQ swarm in Hawaii..
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As noted there is an ongoing eq swarm in Hawaii. And although this is remarkable, it is but a small part of an ongoing refilling of the volcano since it’s impressive draining of over 0.2 cubic miles (about 0.8 cubic kilometers) of lava in 2018. That’s a lot of space, a lot of void to fill, but the volcano during its collapse did not remain rigidly in place, but rather the surface topography changed, sympathetically subsided, as it was internally drained. And now, as the edifice refills, the same surface is deforming, as a balloon does when it is filled, expanding. And, in most cases, this is accompanied by earthquakes. Currently there is an EQ swarm happening in the upper end of what is called Kilauea’s East Rift Zone. And although it may result in an eruption, there have been far more of these intrusions happening that do not result in any surface activity than do. Over all this can be expected to continue for years, and result in many events, both intrusive and eruptive, as the mountain refills. But it is not, at least directly, associated with any remarkable, discernible, changes in the mantel plume that is the source of Hawaii volcanism. Please note, we have a fairly good idea of the internal workings of the volcanoes here. And the area we watch the initially incoming magma from its source is clearly delineated by very deep (20 miles more or less) earthquakes in that area, and that is separated from where the shallower, the surface manifestations of magma’s movement, occur by many miles, both horizontally and vertically. See the linked article above for more detail on this.. Here is a drawing, both plan view, and oblique of a 3D model, of the bigger Hawaiian plumbing system, as outlined by an accumulation of the associated earthquakes..  And more to the swarm of the last few days, which has been shallow, and associated with surface deformation, and the magma involved months away from when it initially entered the volcano. In other words, it has nothing to do with the deep upwelling, or any possible changes in the mantel plume, as some here are want to speculate. Which, btw, the incoming area, that we call the Palaha area, has been relatively quiet of late. Now had folks speculated months ago when there was an actual swarm there, at depth, maybe there would have been something to it. But as it is that swarm passed quite a while ago.. But, yes, there is a swarm, and it is shallow, and there's as good a chance it could end in an eruption as it won’t. Though as it is and with the tilt associated with this event beginning to flatten out I am thinking it’s probably going to quiet down before long… The earthquakes themselves, as plotted in plan view, can be watched here.. https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea And equally as important in interpreting magma’s movement is our tilt array, which measures surface changes that we then infer to measure magma movement, which over the last few days has shown a steady decline, ie magma moving away from the area, the volcano’s summit, being measured. The plot below is for the last seven days, and is updated in close to real time.. and as I post this is just now showing signs of leveling out..  Note that the plot here is dynamic in that it is updated regularly and just needs the page reloaded to see the changes.. |
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98259
From: EMY1, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: first Yellowstone now Hawaii
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Yep! Saw HI had that 3.9 too!! EMY |
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