Mauna Loa (Hawai'i): shallow magnitude 4.0 earthquake under summit caldera
Tue, 6 Sep 2016, 14:58 | BY: T
M4.0 earthquake under Mauna Loa today
Earthquake trace on the recording of MLOA station (HVO)
Such relatively large quakes under active volcanoes can (but not necessarily must) be precursors of new eruptions if they are being caused by magma pressurizing rock and fracturing it on its way up. Whether this particular quake is in fact caused by magma movements is impossible to know a priori without further analysis.
Mauna Loa is statistically "due" for an eruption (its last having been in 1984) and increased seismic activity and inflation over the past years have indicated an ongoing period of unrest due to gradual magma recharge.
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Previous news
Mon, 25 Jul 2016, 06:02
Mauna Loa (Hawai'i): continuing seismic unrest, but no eruption in near future likely
The volcano is not erupting, but continues to show unrest. Deformation and seismic activity remain above long-term background levels. ... Read all
Wed, 16 Mar 2016, 06:00
Mauna Loa volcano (Hawaiian Islands, USA) - Smithsonian / USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report for 16 March-22 March 2016 (Continuing Activity)
On 17 March HVO reported that seismicity at Mauna Loa remained above long-term background levels and was characterized by shallow earthquakes occurring beneath the Southwest Rift Zone (SRZ) at depths of less than 5 km. GPS data showed continuing deformation related to inflation of a magma reservoir beneath the summit and upper SRZ, with inflation recently detected in the SW part of the magma storage complex. The Aviation Color Code remained at Yellow and the Volcano Alert Level remained at Advisory. ... Read all
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