Kīlauea magma chamber inflation triggered strong 2007 earthquakes

Abstract

Hawaii's Kīlauea volcano has been erupting since 1983. Starting in 2003, researchers noticed an inflation of the magma chamber beneath the volcano; this inflation accelerated in 2006. In June 2007, the volcano's eruption peaked with a burst of activity known as the Father's Day event. In the buildup to those eruptions, according to new research by Wauthier et al., a pair of large‐magnitude earthquakes hit, with an epicenter beneath the volcano. Earthquakes are common around the volcano, which sits on Hawaii's Big Island, but with magnitudes of 4.7 and 4.1, the two 2007 earthquakes were among the most powerful recorded in the region since records began in 1959.