Photo of the Mauna Loa Observatory from the The Keeling Curve announcement.

(BIVN) – Federal agencies are planning to restore access to the Mauna Loa Observatory, following the eruption in 2022 that covered the only road to the site with lava. 

On Friday, the Hawaiʻi Board of Land and Natural Resources will consider issuing a right-of-entry permit to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for the restoration of the Mauna Loa Access Road. The land board will also consider whether or not to declare the project exempt from having to prepare an environmental assessment.

According to a submittal prepared by the Hawaiʻi DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife, the project is being done by NOAA, in partnership with the Federal Highway Administration Central Federal Lands Highways Division (CFLHD).

The project is anticipated to be completed by April 2025.

The Mauna Loa Observatory has been monitoring and collecting data related to atmospheric change – such as carbon dioxide levels – since the 1950s.

From the Hawaiʻi DLNR remarks:

In November 2022, a volcanic eruption occurred along Mauna Loa’s Northeast Rift, impacting the MLO access road at multiple locations. Data collection at MLO stopped, and the observatory remains inaccessible by vehicle and without power from the local utility. Observatory staff has since established limited solar power and restored approximately 33 percent of the measurements on–site, including the Global Monitoring Laboratory and Scripps critical CO2 records.

Map courtesy USGS

The 2022 erupton of Mauna Loa lasted two weeks.