Since mid-September, the Volcán Mauna Loathe largest in the world and located on the islands Hawai, is presenting some activity inside that forces scientists to be very aware of it. This volcano usually erupts once every six years.
These signs of activity began in mid-September with an increase in the rate of earthquakes registered under the volcano’s summit, from 10-20 per day to 40-50 per day, as well as an increase in ground deformation. All this forced the decree of the yellow alert, without this implying an imminent danger of eruption, insist the scientists of this Hawaiian island.
This situation is due, according to volcanologists, to the Magma ingress into the Mauna Loa summit reservoir system. As this reservoir expands, it causes small earthquakes directly under the caldera and under a region to the northwest of it.
The largest volcano on Earth
Mauna Loa is the largest active volcano on the planet. It has an area of about 5,271 square kilometers and It has a width of approximately 120 kilometers. Due to these dimensions, the volcano covers almost half the area of the island of Hawaii. Above sea level, it stands at a height of about 4,169-4,170 meters. Its approximate volume is 75,000-80,000 cubic kilometers.
The Mauna Loa has a dome shape; At its summit is a caldera called Mokuʻāweoweo, which has a depth of 183 meters. It has 4 subsidence craters formed by the collapse of the surface located above a vacuum chamber. These craters are: Lua Hohonu, Lua Hou, Lua Poholo, and South Pit. The first two are located southwest of the caldera.
The Smithsonian Institution Global Volcanism Program has recorded at least 109 confirmed eruptions. The first well-documented eruption dates back to 1843, and has since ejected internal material more than 35 times. Its eruptions are of the Hawaiian type, occurring at the summit or in one of the cracks, and on average, the Mauna Loa volcano has erupted once every 6 years.
Updated information on the situation of the volcano: https://www.nps.gov/havo/planyourvisit/maunaloaupdate.htm
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Contact of the Environment section: crisisclimatica@prensaiberica.es