Hawaiian Volcanoes Sudden Silence: Is It the End of Mauna Loa and Kilauea or an Upcoming Danger?

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) of the U.S. Geological Survey reported earlier this week that Kilauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes had both stopped erupting.

The largest volcano in the world, Mauna Loa, has stopped erupting "probably permanently." There has never before been a case of an eruption in the Northeast Rift Zone of Mauna Loa pausing and restarting, according to HVO Scientist-At-Charge Ken Hon in a briefing on Tuesday.

"We feel pretty confident that this eruption has, in fact, paused and is probably over," Hon said per Xinhua.

Mauna Kilauea, Loa Stopped Erupting

Hon noted (per reports) that Kilauea, a smaller neighbor to Mauna Loa, stopped erupting almost simultaneously with Mauna Loa and that the HVO would be analyzing data to see if there was a greater connection between the two eruptions. More than 700 homes were destroyed by Kilauea's eruption in 2018.

According to Hon, the Kilauea eruption in 2018 produced between 200 million and 250 million cubic meters of material, or around one-fifth as much as the Mauna Loa eruption.

The 4,169-meter-tall Mauna Loa volcano had been rumbling steadily in recent months before the eruption. The last eruption of Mauna Loa occurred in 1984.

Experts to See The Link Between Two Volcanoes

Volcanologists are still determining if there is a connection between the ends of the two eruptions, which emphasizes the greater difficulties the researchers encounter when evaluating and forecasting volcanic activity, MSN reported.

With 34 eruptions since 1843, Mauna Loa is one of the world's most well-known and closely-followed volcanoes. Despite this, there are still a lot of unknowns regarding what causes it to erupt and when it stops.

Volcanologists assert that since there is ambiguity regarding other dangerous volcanoes, studies of the Mauna Loa eruption may help make predictions about future eruptions.

Is It The End of the Eruption?

Diana Roman, a volcanologist at the Carnegie Institute, said in a Washington Post article the issue of whether and how the volcanoes might be connected is still "controversial." She noted that there are fascinating signs that they don't act independently of one another.

With that, scientists will examine observations of both volcanoes over the upcoming year to see whether they are related.

Both are shield volcanoes, so termed for their broad, gently sloping profiles, and they are both fed by hot spots, or regions where the mantle of Earth has an exit to the planet's surface in the middle of tectonic plates.

Volcanologists will also be examining studies of the volcanoes to comprehend signs that could aid in forecasting eruptions at other volcanoes.

Geologist Elizabeth Westby of the Cascades Volcano Observatory said in the same Washington Post report that her team participated in watching Mauna Loa erupt and that their observations and lessons learned may be useful the next time volcanic activity happens in the Pacific Northwest.

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