Through the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019 (H.R. 2157), the USGS received Supplemental funding to support recovery and rebuilding activities in the wake of the 2018 Kīlauea volcano eruption. Supplemental funding will enable the USGS to conduct scientific investigations of the current state of Kīlauea to properly interpret the data from the monitoring networks and characterize the ongoing and future threats and hazards to Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park and surrounding communities.
Imaging beneath the summit of Kīlauea Volcano
This study will provide a new detailed view of shallow subsurface structures and the magma system beneath Kīlauea volcano’s summit. This will be the first scientific study with the potential to produce a detailed image of how magma is stored and moves beneath the summit. The information is critical for development of better predictive models for Kīlauea eruptions and to better understand subsurface changes that resulted from the 2018 summit collapse.
Project Title: Active and passive seismic imaging of the three-dimensional structure and magma system beneath the summit of Kīlauea Volcano
Project Timeline:
Mid-April - early May, 2023: Approximately 1800 small seismic nodes will be temporarily deployed within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
May 2023: The Vibroseis truck will operate on roads in the vicinity of Kīlauea summit. The following is a tentative schedule subject to sudden change (schedule will be updated weekly):
- May 9-13: Mauna Loa Road, Tree Molds, Piʻimauna Drive in Volcano Golf Course, portion of Crater Rim Drive from Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park entrance through Kīlauea Visitor Center, and National Park Service housing area.
- May 15-20: Portions of Highway 11 west of Piʻimauna Drive, portions of Crater Rim Drive between Kīlauea Military Camp and Uēkahuna bluff, north of Nāhuku (Thurston Lava Tube), and between Nāhuku and west of Devastation Trail, and portion of Escape Road north of Nāhuku.
- May 22-27: ʻĀinahou Road to Maunaulu (including portion of Chain of Craters Road), portion of Escape Road south of Nāhuku to Maunaulu, portion of Chain of Craters Road between Maunaulu and Hilina Pali Road, Hilina Pali Road, and Chain of Craters Road between Hilina Pali Road and Puʻupuaʻi Parking Lot.
- May 29-31: Portion of Crater Rim Drive south of Entrance Station to area north of Kīlauea Visitor Center, Old Volcano Road, Haunani Road, and Wright Road.
Early June 2023: The temporary seismic nodes will be retrieved from within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
Who is collecting the Kīlauea Seismic Imaging Project data?
USGS scientists, under a research permit from Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park and with permission from the State of Hawaii, are collaborating with researchers at the University of Miami and Renseller Polytech Institute to collect and analyze the data. The project is funded by the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019 (H.R. 2157) and the National Science Foundation.
What data will be collected, and when?
A temporary array of about 1,800 densely spaced seismometers (nodes) will be deployed on the ground surface of Kīlauea's summit region. The nodes will blend into the natural environment.
The nodes will record different types of data in May 2023 for 21 days:
- Local and large worldwide earthquakes
- Ambient seismic noise (for example, generated by the ocean or the atmosphere)
- Controlled seismic signals (vibrations generated by the Vibroseis truck)
As the nodes are collecting data, a Vibroseis truck will be traversing roads in Kīlauea's summit region creating controlled seismic signals. These signals, which will be identifiable and unique, will be generated from known locations and will help to provide specific constraints on the geometry and nature of the magma system.
What will we learn from the data?
The dense network of nodes and the Vibroseis truck will allow us to collect data that will help us understand what is below the summit of Kīlauea, including fault structures and bodies of magma. The data will help reveal these features:
- magma
- dense accumulations of olivine crystals
- connections between the summit magma reservoir and the East Rift Zone
- major faults
- where the base of Kīlauea contacts the underlying ocean crust
Additionally, the data collected during this study will allow USGS scientists to create a model of the 3D velocity structure for Kīlauea summit area, which will improve Kīlauea summit earthquake location accuracies in the future, thus providing a more complete and detailed view of where seismicity occurs within this volcanic system.
How long will the data analysis take?
The study will involve at least 3-years of data analysis and interpretation and result in scientific reports on topics described above that will characterize a new understanding of the structures and magma system beneath Kīlauea’s summit to 8 km (5 mi) depth. The reports will allow for new interpretative information and products to be developed for the public—residents of Hawai‘i Island, Park visitors, educators, and students. The refined 3D velocity model and numerous scientific reports are anticipated to provide refined and new interpretations of the volcano that will help scientists improve future hazard assessments and warnings of hazardous activity at Kīlauea.
May 6, 2023 — Kīlauea Seismic Imaging Project node deployment
USGS scientists deploy a bucket, containing a seismic node, which was set on a hard lava flow surface. There are now about 1,800 seismic nodes deployed around the Kīlauea summit region to record seismic signals for the next three weeks.
- Overview
Through the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019 (H.R. 2157), the USGS received Supplemental funding to support recovery and rebuilding activities in the wake of the 2018 Kīlauea volcano eruption. Supplemental funding will enable the USGS to conduct scientific investigations of the current state of Kīlauea to properly interpret the data from the monitoring networks and characterize the ongoing and future threats and hazards to Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park and surrounding communities.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.This photo shows a University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa graduate student deploying a seismic node—a light and compact seismometer that measures ground shaking at the location where it is placed. Unlike permanent seismic stations, which are placed farther apart and cover the entire Island of Hawai‘i, the temporary seismic nodes will be tightly grouped in order to more densely record earthquake signals across Kīlauea summit region. USGS photo by N. Bennington. Imaging beneath the summit of Kīlauea Volcano
This study will provide a new detailed view of shallow subsurface structures and the magma system beneath Kīlauea volcano’s summit. This will be the first scientific study with the potential to produce a detailed image of how magma is stored and moves beneath the summit. The information is critical for development of better predictive models for Kīlauea eruptions and to better understand subsurface changes that resulted from the 2018 summit collapse.
Project Title: Active and passive seismic imaging of the three-dimensional structure and magma system beneath the summit of Kīlauea Volcano
Project Timeline:
Mid-April - early May, 2023: Approximately 1800 small seismic nodes will be temporarily deployed within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
May 2023: The Vibroseis truck will operate on roads in the vicinity of Kīlauea summit. The following is a tentative schedule subject to sudden change (schedule will be updated weekly):
- May 9-13: Mauna Loa Road, Tree Molds, Piʻimauna Drive in Volcano Golf Course, portion of Crater Rim Drive from Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park entrance through Kīlauea Visitor Center, and National Park Service housing area.
- May 15-20: Portions of Highway 11 west of Piʻimauna Drive, portions of Crater Rim Drive between Kīlauea Military Camp and Uēkahuna bluff, north of Nāhuku (Thurston Lava Tube), and between Nāhuku and west of Devastation Trail, and portion of Escape Road north of Nāhuku.
- May 22-27: ʻĀinahou Road to Maunaulu (including portion of Chain of Craters Road), portion of Escape Road south of Nāhuku to Maunaulu, portion of Chain of Craters Road between Maunaulu and Hilina Pali Road, Hilina Pali Road, and Chain of Craters Road between Hilina Pali Road and Puʻupuaʻi Parking Lot.
- May 29-31: Portion of Crater Rim Drive south of Entrance Station to area north of Kīlauea Visitor Center, Old Volcano Road, Haunani Road, and Wright Road.
Early June 2023: The temporary seismic nodes will be retrieved from within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
Who is collecting the Kīlauea Seismic Imaging Project data?
USGS scientists, under a research permit from Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park and with permission from the State of Hawaii, are collaborating with researchers at the University of Miami and Renseller Polytech Institute to collect and analyze the data. The project is funded by the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019 (H.R. 2157) and the National Science Foundation.
What data will be collected, and when?
A temporary array of about 1,800 densely spaced seismometers (nodes) will be deployed on the ground surface of Kīlauea's summit region. The nodes will blend into the natural environment.
The nodes will record different types of data in May 2023 for 21 days:
- Local and large worldwide earthquakes
- Ambient seismic noise (for example, generated by the ocean or the atmosphere)
- Controlled seismic signals (vibrations generated by the Vibroseis truck)
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.The Vibroseis vehicle that will be operating in the Kīlauea summit region throughout May 2023. The vehicle belongs to the Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI) experimental facility at the University of Texas at Austin, which is supported with funding from the National Science Foundation. As the nodes are collecting data, a Vibroseis truck will be traversing roads in Kīlauea's summit region creating controlled seismic signals. These signals, which will be identifiable and unique, will be generated from known locations and will help to provide specific constraints on the geometry and nature of the magma system.
What will we learn from the data?
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.Project area for the active and passive seismic imaging of the three-dimensional structure and magma system beneath the summit of Kīlauea volcano. The dense nodal array and the Vibroseis truck will allow us to collect data that will lead to improved understanding of the structures and magma storage features beneath the summit of Kīlauea. The dense network of nodes and the Vibroseis truck will allow us to collect data that will help us understand what is below the summit of Kīlauea, including fault structures and bodies of magma. The data will help reveal these features:
- magma
- dense accumulations of olivine crystals
- connections between the summit magma reservoir and the East Rift Zone
- major faults
- where the base of Kīlauea contacts the underlying ocean crust
Additionally, the data collected during this study will allow USGS scientists to create a model of the 3D velocity structure for Kīlauea summit area, which will improve Kīlauea summit earthquake location accuracies in the future, thus providing a more complete and detailed view of where seismicity occurs within this volcanic system.
How long will the data analysis take?
The study will involve at least 3-years of data analysis and interpretation and result in scientific reports on topics described above that will characterize a new understanding of the structures and magma system beneath Kīlauea’s summit to 8 km (5 mi) depth. The reports will allow for new interpretative information and products to be developed for the public—residents of Hawai‘i Island, Park visitors, educators, and students. The refined 3D velocity model and numerous scientific reports are anticipated to provide refined and new interpretations of the volcano that will help scientists improve future hazard assessments and warnings of hazardous activity at Kīlauea.
- Multimedia
May 6, 2023 — Kīlauea Seismic Imaging Project node deployment
USGS scientists deploy a bucket, containing a seismic node, which was set on a hard lava flow surface. There are now about 1,800 seismic nodes deployed around the Kīlauea summit region to record seismic signals for the next three weeks.
- News