HAWAII
Mauna Loa, dormant since its last eruption in 1984, and after a very long inflation period with starts, stops, and starts, entered into an eruptive phase Nov 30th (HST) with a visually spectacular eruption. The eruption began with a fissure eruption at the summit of Moku'āweoweo caldera at just around midnight.
Animated 24-hour GIF of the start of the eruption via USGS/HVO
This part of the eruption effused a very large amount of lava in a short period of time, but quickly ended after overfilling the SW caldera rim.
Shortly after, fissures on the Northwest Rift Zone (NWRZ) erupted. A total of four fissures erupted with the dominant fissure being the third and most effusive. The main lava flow threatened the Daniel K. Inouye highway (or, Saddle Rd) on the Big Island, but has since stalled at about 1.7 miles away from the highway, one of the critical roads for the Big Island which enables the far-away communities to reach each other.
Lava flow map of Mauna Loa's recent eruption as of 12/9/22
Mauna Loa has not been actively erupting for around 38 years, which is the longest dormant period since recordkeeping began. The inflationary period began sometime in 2011 and has continued on and off since then.
The eruption has unfortunately cut off a critical road to one of the world's premier CO2 monitoring sites operated by NOAA, which is responsible for measuring CO2 PPM measurements which are a critical gauge in measuring the effects of climate change and global warming. Access to this site is currently cut off due to lava crossing Mauna Loa Observatory Road early in the eruption.
A live stream of the eruption is available via HVO/USGS at Mauna Loa Eruption, HI - USGS live stream - YouTube, however the camera does go in and out of service due to extreme weather and wind conditions.
Image of the now waning eruptive fissure, fissure3 as of 4:30pm HST 12/9/2022
As of today, the eruption seems to be waning, however magmatic tremor remains present. It is possible the eruption pauses and resumes, is done entirely, or that new eruptive fissures can form as long as volcanic tremor remains present. At this point, it will take weeks or months to determine whether or not activity will continue, pause, or cease entirely.
Given the long dormancy period, I suspect this was 'the opening act' for this volcano, and we can expect more frequent eruptions in the near future, as the structure of the mountain has surely been altered by the recent activity, meaning that cracks and fractures may allow for other lavas to erupt.
You can keep up to date with Mauna Loa at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory on the USGS site.
Given the long dormancy period, I suspect this was 'the opening act' for this volcano, and we can expect more frequent eruptions in the near future, as the structure of the mountain has surely been altered by the recent activity, meaning that cracks and fractures may allow for other lavas to erupt.
You can keep up to date with Mauna Loa at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory on the USGS site.
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