Maunaloa Update & Long-Term Deformation, May 14, 2021

A third quiet week on Maunaloa follows the flurry of northwest flank earthquake activity last month, with the summit GPS line still displaying slight localized contraction. Building on last week's discussion of historical measurements prior to the 1984 eruption and to the 2015 intrusion, we turn to newly published research this week with data and modeling through 2020 by Varugu & Amelung (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-89203-6), adding consideration of the events thus far in 2021. We present current and published USGS-HVO data along with the new research detailing just how much magma has entered the volcano in the past 18 years, its shifting deformation patterns, and what it would take to start an eruption, as well as discussing live viewer questions as usual. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dur5wLonkE