(BIVN) – The ongoing eruption of Kīlauea volcano remains paused, as earthquake swarms continue in the summit area.  

This morning, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported two more seismic swarms occurred beneath Halemaʻumaʻu and the south caldera on Monday, January 19. The first swarm occurred at 1:37 pm and the second swarm 9:25 pm HST.  

The second swarm lasted for 20 to 30 minutes and triggered a 1.5 microradian drop in UWD tilt. The deflation has since levelled off. Scientists say the strong glow from the summit vents was not affected by this event.  

USGS graph shows electronic tilt at the Kīlauea summit (blue line) and East Rift Zone (green) over the past week. Note the drop on the evening of January 19, coinciding with an earthquake swarm.

The earthquake swarms have been occurring at the summit since the end of Episode 40 one week ago. Prior to the most recent swarms, the forecast for the onset of the next lava fountaining episode (episode 41) was between January 21 to 25. The latest seismicity and its impact to ground tilt may have changed those inflation models. 

This story will be updated with information from the USGS HVO once the geologists publishes their daily observations.