(BIVN) – Swarms of earthquakes beneath the summit of Kīlauea volcano are being monitored by scientists, following the end of the latest high lava fountaining episode on Monday.

There have been three small swarms of earthquakes under Halemaʻumaʻu crater since the end of episode 40. The third swarm, which began at 7:35 p.m. on Wednesday, January 14, prompted an information statement by the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

“Elevated seismic activity gradually died down in frequency of occurrence and intensity, over the course of 40 minutes,” the Observatory wrote in its Wednesday evening statement. ”Locations of these earthquakes are spread broadly beneath east side of Halemaʻumaʻu crater and the south caldera. All of the detected earthquakes have been less than magnitude-2, with most being magnitude-1 or smaller.”

The scientists say the first earthquake swarm began at 12:40 a.m. HST on Tuesday, January 13, and lasted for 30 minutes. The second swarm occurred at around 9:10 a.m. HST on Wednesday morning, and lasted less than 30 minutes. “The first and second swarms both had magnitude ranges similar to the third,” the Observatory noted. ”Most of the earthquakes seem to be occurring around the shallow Halemaʻumaʻu magma chamber, some 1.5 to 4 km beneath the surface.”

The USGS HVO wrote:

Most of the earthquakes are volcano-tectonic earthquakes that accompany crack opening due to magmatic pressure. Elevated seismic activity of these intensities have not been seen at the summit since the start of the eruption in December 2024. A small swarm did precede a new fissure opening in the wall of the Halemaʻumaʻu crater just to the south of the vents, at the start of episode 30. It is yet to be determined if these swarms after episode 40 will have an impact on lava-fountaining activity at the surface.

Volcanic systems remain a complex balance of magmatic pressure and strength of the surrounding rocks.  If the rocks weaken, one possible outcome is injection of a magma into a fracture creating a dike.  If the magma breaches the surface a new vent might be created shifting the focus of the eruption. Historically, episodic fountain eruptions can cease when the magma supply is diverted in this manner.

Currently all of the activity remains beneath Kīlauea caldera and there is no observable evidence that magma is migrating away from this area.  Both the east and the southwest rift zones remain quiet at this time.

The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory says it will continue to closely track changes in seismic activity and monitor Hawaiian volcanoes for any changes.

The USGS Volcano Alert Level for Kīlauea remains at WATCH.