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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2: Hawaiian Volcano Set to Erupt

The world’s largest volcano in Hawaii is getting ready to erupt for the first time in 20 years.

Mauna Loa, located in Kailua-Kona, has not erupted since 1984. At that time it erupted for three weeks, sending a flow of lava 16 miles long toward the city of Hilo. Following the eruption, more than $2.3 billion was invested in construction to stabilize Mauna Loa’s slopes.

Scientists say that frequent earthquakes that have been occurring beneath the volcano suggest that Mauna Loa could erupt in the future. More than 350 earthquakes have been recorded since July, said Don Swanson, the scientist-in-charge at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

“Mauna Loa is grumbling, growling and getting ready to come out of its den,” he said.

The eruption can’t be predicted exactly, but Paul Okubo, a scientist at the observatory, said that every day it is closer.

“We don’t believe an eruption is right around the corner, but every day that goes by is one day closer to that event,” he said. The earthquakes are what seismologists call a “long period,” meaning that their signals slowly rise above noise typically generated my regular activity.

“Such a concentrated number of deep, long-period earthquakes from this part of Mauna Loa is unprecedented, at least in our modern earthquake catalog dating back to the 1960s,” Okubo said.

Mauna Loa is located within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, also the home of the famous Kilauea volcano that has been erupting nonstop since January 1983.

--Written by Katie Denbo

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