RAPID: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: OBS survey of Kilauea's submarine south flank following the May 4, 2018 M6.9 earthquake and Lower East Rift Zone eruption

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In April 2018, a dramatic shift took place in the ongoing eruption of Kilauea volcano. Both the summit lava lake and the vent at Puu Oo, active for 35 years, catastrophically drained, sending magma to the Lower East Rift Zone where it began to erupt, and eventually to flow into the ocean. This project is to deploy a network of 12 ocean-bottom seismometers to record earthquakes associated with the ongoing eruption. The instruments will be deployed on the south flank, and will record several hundred offshore earthquakes and thousands more occurring beneath Hawaii Island. The earthquake locations will aid in understanding deformation on the submarine south flank of the volcano, and provide insight into properties of the fault zone along which Kilauea Volcano moves across the Pacific plate. Recordings of the energy generated at the ocean entry where lava enters the ocean will be used to understand submarine eruptive processes such as lava-water explosions, submarine lava flows, and landslides. This project will enhance understanding of the seismic and volcanic hazards associated with eruptions from Kilauea Volcano, including possible offshore landslides and potential tsunamis. The project supports the training of students on a research expedition. The data will be made available immediately upon collection.At Kilauea Volcano the change in eruptive activity in Spring 2018 was accompanied by an increase in seismicity within the rift zone, at the summit, and beneath the submarine south flank of the volcano. Activity has also been recorded at the margins of the submarine south flank, in areas that have not seen significant seismicity in the past. Earthquakes that have been recorded offshore are poorly located because the seismic network is limited to one half of the focal sphere. This work will focus on answering several key questions. What structures within and beneath the mobile south flank are active today, what are the deformation mechanisms associated with them, and how do they relate to the ongoing eruptions? The M 6.9 earthquake appears to have also ruptured an area that experiences aseismic slip although the interpreted slow-slip source region has far fewer aftershocks than the adjacent regions. What caused the region to slip co-seismically? Much of the submarine south flank of Kilauea is composed of fragmental lava that has been transported downslope through landsliding. How does this process evolve as a new ocean entry develops?This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.