(BIVN) – Kīlauea is not erupting, and there have been no significant changes at the Hawaiʻi island volcano over the past day. 

The USGS Alert Level remains at ADVISORY, and scientists say earthquake activity under the summit and upper East Rift Zone decreased slightly over the past 24 hours.

Also, gradual inflation of the summit and upper rift zones has paused.

From the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory on Friday morning:

Summit and Upper Rift Zone Observations:  Over the past 24 hours, there were approximately 24 earthquakes detected beneath Kīlauea’s summit and approximately 73 earthquakes detected beneath the upper East Rift Zone, mostly at depths of 0–2 km (0.0–1.2 mi) beneath the ground surface. A slight decrease in earthquake counts was observed beneath the summit and a slight decrease was observed beneath the upper East Rift Zone compared to the previous day (during which there were approximately 37 events detected beneath the summit, and approximately 79 events detected beneath the upper East Rift Zone). All earthquake counts are well below the counts recorded during the June 27–July 1 upper East Rift Zone swarm. All events were smaller than M3 earthquakes in the summit and upper east rift zone regions. Tiltmeters in Kīlauea summit region (instruments SDH, southwest of the summit, and UWE, northwest of the summit) show almost no change in ground deformation over the past day. GPS instruments around the summit region continue to show longer-term, gradual inflation since the end of the June 3, 2024, eruption. The most recent measurement of the summit’s SO2 emission rate was approximately 100 tonnes per day on July 17, 2024.

Above Top: Number of earthquakes per day during the past week (blue bars). The red line is the cumulative moment (energy) release. Bottom: Depth of earthquakes during the past week in the area shown on the map above. Depth is reported relative to sea level, which is equal to a depth of zero on the above plot. On both figures, circle-size represents magnitude, and color indicates depth. (USGS graphs)

Middle and Lower Rift Zone Observations:  Rates of seismicity and ground deformation beneath the middle and lower East Rift Zone and lower Southwest Rift Zone remain low. Recent eruptive activity and ongoing unrest have been restricted to the summit and upper rift zone regions. Measurements from continuous gas monitoring stations downwind of Puʻuʻōʻō in the middle East Rift Zone—the site of 1983–2018 eruptive activity—remain below detection limits for SO2, indicating that SO2 emissions from Puʻuʻōʻō are negligible.

Analysis: Following the eruption on June 3, 2024, magma has been repressurizing the storage system beneath Halemaʻumaʻu and the south caldera region, activating earthquakes in the caldera south of Halemaʻumaʻu and in the upper East Rift Zone. At this time, it is not possible to say whether this activity will lead to an intrusion or eruption in the near future, or simply continue as seismic unrest at depth. Changes in the character and location of unrest can occur quickly, as can the potential for eruption, but there are no signs of an imminent eruption at this time.