An OBS Array to Investigate Offshore Seismicity during the 2018 Kīlauea Eruption

Abstract

AbstractOn 3 May 2018, Kīlauea Volcano, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, entered a new eruptive phase because of a dike intrusion in the East Rift zone. One day later, an Mw 6.9 earthquake, which was likely trigged by the dike intrusion, occurred in the submarine south flank of Kīlauea Volcano. In mid-July, an ocean-bottom seismometer (OBS) array consisting of 12 stations was deployed on the submarine south flank of Kīlauea Volcano to monitor the aftershocks and lava–water interaction near the ocean entry. Eleven OBSs were recovered in mid-September. Preliminary evaluation of the data reveals a large number of seismic and acoustic events, which provide a valuable dataset for understanding flank deformation and stability as well as lava–water interaction. Here, we introduce this dataset and document notable instrument malfunctions along with some initial seismic and acoustic observations.