(BIVN) – Mauna Loa on Hawaiʻi island is not erupting, and the USGS Volcano Alert Level remains at NORMAL. 

On Thursday, scientists with the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory published their monthly update on Mauna Loa, reporting a decrease in seismic activity compared to the previous month. 

Earthquakes continue to cluster under Mokuʻāweoweo at the summit, as well as the upper Southwest Rift Zone. “A total of 86 earthquakes were detected beneath Mauna Loa’s summit region in the February reporting period, while the prior month had 116 earthquakes,” the Observatory reported. 

Mauna Loa has shown variable rates of inflation at the summit over the past six months, according to data from Global Positioning System (GPS) instruments, which scientists say is associated with refilling of the summit reservoir system following the 2022 eruption. 

USGS webcam photo shows the Upper and Middle Parts of Mauna Loa’s Southwest Rift Zone

The Observatory says gas and temperature data from a station on Mauna Loa’s Southwest Rift Zone “indicate these values are at background levels, with little change relative to previous months.”

“Since its first well-documented eruption in 1843, the volcano has erupted 34 times with intervals between eruptions ranging from months to decades,” the Observatory says. “Mauna Loa eruptions typically start at the summit and, within minutes to months of eruption onset, can migrate into either the Northeast or Southwest Rift Zone, or radial vents on the northwest flank.”