(BIVN) – The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory recently visited the summit area of Mauna Loa volcano to do monitoring network maintenance.
On August 12, field engineers made their way to the summit to upgrade and install new monitoring webcams, change batteries, install new antennas, and replace solar panels that had been damaged during winter storms. Photos of the journey were shared on the HVO website.
The USGS says the telemetry network on Mauna Loa was upgraded in order to accommodate new webcams around the summit and upper Southwest Rift Zone.
Mauna Loa is not erupting, and the massive Hawaiʻi island volcano has been relatively quiet over the past month.
Last week, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory issued its monthly Mauna Loa update. Scientists reported a 34% percent increase in seismicity over the previous month.
The Observatory said earthquake clustering under Mauna Loa’s upper-Southwest Rift Zone dissipated this month, but there was an increase in small events, dispersed deeper under the volcano.
From the USGS website:
Mauna Loa is among Earth’s most active volcanoes, having erupted 34 times since its first well-documented historical eruption in 1843. It has produced large, voluminous flows of basalt that have reached the ocean eight times since 1868. During the 1984 eruption, a lava flow came within 7.2 km (4.5 mi) of Hilo, the largest population center on the island. During the most recent eruption, in 2022, lava flows came to within 1.7 miles (2.8 kilometers) of the Daniel K. Inouye Highway (Saddle Road). Mauna Loa is certain to erupt again, and with such a propensity to produce large flows, we carefully monitor the volcano for signs of unrest.
