Ka‘ū News Briefs, Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022

How to Apply for a Federal Job is the subject of an After Dark in the Park presentation this Tuesday, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m in Kīlauea
 Visitor Center Auditorium. See more below. NPS photo

BRANDY EBANEZ WAS FOUND DEAD IN THE COLUMBIA RIVER IN WASHINGTON STATE on Tuesday and police and family suspect murder connected to domestic violence. Her body was found floating downstream of the cable bridge across the Columbia River in Kennewick, WA. by a fisherman.
    Family members have flown from Hawai'i in an attempt to retrieve her two children and bring them

The late Brandy Ebanez

back to her family home town of Pahala. See https://www.gofundme.com/f/in-the-loving-memory-of-brandy-ebanez.
    Brandy Ebanez is the daughter of Joanne Ebanez, of Pāhala, and the late Almarich Douglas Ebanez, two of Ka'u's first coffee farmers.
    A message from Brandy Ebanez's siblings, entitled Justice for Brandy, says, "She was a mother, a daughter, a sister an auntie and a niece. She was beautiful, feisty and kind-hearted.
    "But she was also a vicim of domestic violence. Because of this heinous act of violence, she will never get to teach her two girls how to drive. She will never get to watch them graduate. She won't get to watch them walk down the aisle when they get married and all of the little beautiful and precious moments in between that a mother should be experiencing with her babies."
    "Our sister, Brandy Elizabeth Irene Ebanez, was born and raised in Pāhala, Hawai'i and was 34 years young and left us way to soon by the worst imaginable way to be taken. Let's just call a spade a spade she was murdered. She was killed, then her body was put into the water to not be found, like she didn't matter, like no one was out there worried and wondering where she was for weeks. But by the grace of God, she was found and we thank the fisherman who did find her. Because of him/her, we get to bring her home where she belongs and we're sure her soul is now resting in peace.
    "Because the laws of domestic violence being light, he continued to do what he did, not caring for the consequences. And if we had more harsh laws, this could have been prevented. But now our mom has to

say goodbye to her baby girl before any parent should bury their child.
    "Our sister Brandy was loved wholeheartedly, so if you have any information about this case please contact Kennewick Police in Washington. Please share our sister's story so it's out there and her story is told. Justice for Brandy."
    Brandy Ebanez's sister Breann Ebanez, of Pāhala, said, "I don't think anybody should go through this, especially that she leaves two young kids behind." Friend Melrae Smith told Hawai'i News Now that Brandy Ebanez is remembered her for her kind and loving nature. "Brandy has a heart of gold. She is loved everywhere she touches. We work in the medical field and everybody loves her.” Hawai'i News Now reported that Ebanez’s friends encourage anyone who experiences domestic violence to seek help. Hawai'i News Now also reported that it is "unclear if the suspect has been charged." Media in Washington state reported that the apartment where she lived with her boyfriend and two children was being scoured by police during their investigation. Anyone with any information can call the Benton County Sheriff's Office at 509-735-6555.

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West Kaʻū's member of the state House of Representatives
 Jeanne Kapela. Photo from Office of Kapela

MINIMUM WAGE IN HAWAI'I ROSE TO $12 AN HOUR from $10.10 an hour on Saturday. The hike was approved by the 2022 Hawai'i Legislature and signed by Gov. David Ige. The rise in minimum wage will continue incrementally. Minimum wage will go up incrementally to $14 on Jan. 1, 2024, $16 on Jan. 1, 2026 and $18 on Jan. 1, 2028.    

    West Kaʻū's member of the state House of Representatives Jeanne Kapela said, "Finally, the workers on whom our economy relies are getting a raise. Yet, we must do more to deliver prosperity for working families. That's why I'm fighting for paid sick and family leave, truly affordable housing, a state child tax credit, and an education system that gives all keiki the opportunities they deserve. This is a good day for our islands' workforce. Together, we can ensure that the future includes many more victories for the people of Hawai'i Nei."

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Top job: Hawa'i Volcanoes Superintendent Rhonda Loh. After
 Dark in the Park this Tuesday helps people to apply for
employment at the Park and other federal agencies. NPS photo

AFTER DARK IN THE PARK: How Do I Apply for a Federal Job? Shape America’s Future: Find Your Fit in the federal government. Join Park Ranger Ben Hayes, this Tuesday, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. in Kīlauea Visitor Center Auditorium, as he explains how to find and apply for federal career opportunities. Hayes will demonstrate navigating the USAJobs website, share resume writing tips, and "how to find your fit" in the National Park Service and other federal agencies.
    Program is co-sponsored by Friends of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. For information, call (808) 985-6011. A $2 donation helps to support park programs. Park entrance fees apply.

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OCTOBER IS ENERGY AWARENESS MONTH. Hawai'i Energy issued a statement: "As we face record-breaking (and not in a good way) climate impacts and sky-high expenses, making smart choices about how and when we use energy matters more than ever. Hawai'i Energy encourages everyone to

"Level Up. Try one new habit as a family, like taking shorter showers, or maybe finally give that contractor a call about a more efficient water heater replacement." Hawai'i Energy urges replacing old appliances with ENERGY STAR® models, switching from incandescent or CFL to LED bulbs and "consider producing your own energy with renewable technologies, like a solar photovoltaic system."    For more ways to #LEVELUPNOW visit HawaiiEnergy.com/EAM.

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KA'Ū SCORED ONE TOUCHDOWN AGAINST HONOKA'A on Saturday, with the Dragons taking hold to the win the game on the Pāhala ballfield 36-6.

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Ka‘ū News Briefs, Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022

The Jones Act is temporarily suspended for Puerto Rico, allowing foreign built ships to deliver needed cargo after a hurricane. Grassroot Institute of Hawai'i is asking for the same for Hawai'i to lower shipping costs. See opinion piece below.
Photo from Grassroot Institute of Hawai'i

THE FIRST-EVER PACIFIC ISLANDS COUNTRY SUMMIT, hosted this week by the U.S. President in Washington, D.C., was important in "enhancing connectivity and mutual aid, addressing climate change and meeting the geopolitical challenge of China,” according to Hawa'i Congressman Ed Case. He said, “Our country’s interests, and in fact our future, hinge on how we formulate, advance and strengthen our role and relationships in the Pacific.”

    Attending were leaders from: Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Nauru, New Caledonia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and the United States of America.

    During the summit, Pres. Joe Biden told the leaders of Pacific Island nations, “The security of America, quite frankly, and the world depends on your security and the security of the Pacific Islands.” He committed to returning the Peace Corps to Pacific Island nations, including Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and Vanuatu, and to establish U.S. embassies in Kiribati, Solomon Islands and Tonga. U.S. investments would go to battling climate resilience, maritime security, developing tourism, digital connectivity and law enforcement training.

    The effort is in part to offset the influence of China, which has been investing heavily into the economies of the Pacific Island nations.

    The Guardian reported a letter to the U.S. Administration from ambassadors attending the summit representing Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Republic of Palau asking for more help, particularly with climate change. The Guardian reported the letter saying the "primary point is that this [climate change] is our hottest and most important topic. We are unable to solve climate change, and unable to provide for our citizens’ education and health needs, unless and until these negotiations conclude, and conclude in such a manner that genuinely meet our development needs....The gaps between the needs of our peoples and what has been offered are narrowed, but are far from closed."

    Case noted that Hawai'i "serves as our gateway to the Pacific and Asia and is critical to the defense posture of our country in our half of the world. Hawai‘i will continue to have a unique role in the Pacific because of the values, history and identify we share with the rest of our island ‘ohana.”
    As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, Case has won Congressional approval for many initiatives focusing on Asia and the Pacific, including funding that includes: Millions for the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, in part to strengthen America’s contributions to Pacific Islands security-related concerns; $19.7 million in further federal funding for the East-West Center to advance Hawai‘i’s leadership role in the Indo-Pacific; and $4 million for the Defense Security Cooperation Agency’s Regional Centers. This funding will help expand the work of the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies.

The Peace Corps is planning to return to Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and Vanuatu,
according to commitments made at the Pacific Islands Country Summit,
hosted by the White House this week in Washington, D.C.

    

    On July 25, 2019, Case co-announced the formation of the first-ever Congressional Pacific Islands Caucus, which he serves as co-chair, saying, “I have been convinced for some time that our country’s and world’s future are in the Indo-Pacific, and the islands of the Pacific are a key yet too-often overlooked part of that region.” On July 30, 2020, Case co-introduced the BLUE Pacific Act, focusing on security, development and shared values.”
   Case and congressional colleagues urged the Administration to prioritize negotiations with the Freely Associated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Palau. The letter stated that “Compacts of Free Association, their subsidiary agreements and enacting legislation define a decades-old special and mutually beneficial relationship and provide our country with valuable economic and security benefits.” Case also pointed to a report released this month by the U.S. Institute of Peace, entitled China’s Influence on the Freely Associated States of the Northern Pacific.” It says that since achieving full sovereignty in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s “the FAS have considered the United States their most important partner on economic and security issues. However, in the last decade, and especially the last five years, China’s role in the region has grown.”
    On April 8 to 14, Case joined a Congressional delegation with stops in the Philippines and Papua New Guinea to foster and strengthen ties between the United States and the two countries, and attended the Our Ocean Conference in Palau. 5. On May 17, in testimony before the House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, Case said “we have made progress through renewed diplomatic and other efforts to engage Pacific leaders, including Secretary Blinken’s and Congress’ own travels to the region. However, without funding to support specific initiatives, visits alone and promises made will ring hollow. Now is the time to ensure that our foreign policy budget reflects the importance of our ties to the Pacific Islands and our support for a secure and stable Indo-Pacific, committed to an order based on mutual respect, cooperation and freedoms."

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HAWAI'I SHOULD RECEIVE AN EXEMPTION FROM THE JONES ACT, according to an opinion piece issued Saturday by Grassroot Institute of Hawai'i leader, Keli'i Akina:

    Watching the controversy unfold over the delivery of fuel to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico has been especially poignant to those of us who live in Hawai'i. It's hard not to look at the delay, political gamesmanship and dueling press statements and wonder how long it will be until Hawai'i is in a similar situation.
    As you may be aware, Puerto Rico was hit by Hurricane Fiona on Sept. 18. The storm killed 21 residents, caused serious flooding and left approximately 1 million people without electricity. The island is still recovering from the damage caused five years ago by Hurricane Maria, and it was immediately evident that Puerto Rico would need significant aid and support.
    Disaster relief has been finding its way toward the beleaguered territory, but an old barrier we in Hawai'i are all too familiar with is once again blocking the delivery of necessary goods: the 1920 Jones Act. This blatantly protectionist federal maritime law requires that all goods shipped between American ports be on ships that are U.S. built and flagged and mostly owned and crewed by Americans.
  The effect of the law on Hawaii and Puerto Rico — both of which are heavily dependent on waterborne imports — is to make goods more expensive and inhibit economic growth. Worse, when there is an emergency, aid is restricted to the few ships that meet Jones Act requirements. All of which explains why a ship carrying 300,000 barrels of essential diesel fuel from Texas sat off Puerto Rico's coast earlier this week, legally unable to dock. 

Image from Grassroot Institute of Hawai'i

    Why? Because the ship was not Jones Act compliant. For days, the ship sat there, a symbol of the Jones Act's failure, while politicians, lobbyists, activists and maritime experts argued over whether the Biden administration should allow it to dock and unload its cargo. Even before the issue of this one ship arose, prominent voices nationwide were calling for a general Jones Act waiver for Puerto Rico.
    As president of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, I wrote President Joe Biden asking him to authorize a one-year Jones Act waiver for the territory. In Congress, both Republican and Democratic senators and representatives added their voices. The New York City Council called for a general exemption. And so did the editorial boards of The Boston Globe, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal, among many others in the media.
    When the issue of the one fuel tanker took center stage, even more people stepped forward. So why the delay in granting the waiver? Because the Biden administration has repeatedly proclaimed its support for the Jones Act — and the corporations and unions that support the law are well-heeled and highly focused on protecting their turf. But public pressure kept intensifying. So on Wednesday, after days of dispute, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas granted a "temporary and targeted" waiver so the Marshall Islands-flagged vessel could deliver the fuel.
   The action confirmed that the Jones Act hurts people who need aid. If the Jones Act worked, there would be enough ships and enough maritime workers to deliver help in a crisis. It doesn't and there aren't. If the Jones Act worked, issuing waivers for areas with emergency needs — like Puerto Rico after a hurricane or

Image from Grassroot Institute of Hawai'i

the New England states trying to ensure sufficient liquid natural gas for the upcoming winter — wouldn't become a nightmare of political wrangling and bureaucracy.
    As this latest incident demonstrates, ordinary people suffer while lobbyists claim that the domestic merchant fleet will crumble if a foreign-built ship is allowed to deliver American fuel to Americans who were hit by a natural disaster.
    Reams of research produced by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii and other organizations has shown that the Jones Act has failed to achieve its stated goals of boosting America's maritime industry and protecting national security.
    Yet, this law — crafted for long-ago era — continues to cause real harm to Puerto Rico. We in Hawai'i should be watching carefully, because one day we might be the ones begging for a waiver that will help us power our hurricane-ravaged communities. We should not wait for an emergency to start working to protect ourselves. Lawmakers at every level of government in Hawai'i should be doing what they can now to update the Jones Act for the 21st century.

 U.S. Drought Monitor shows an area of Extreme Drought,
in red, with east Ka'u in Moderate Drought in beige
and west Ka'u Abnormally Dry in yellow.

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EASTERN TIP OF SOUTH POINT IS IN EXTREME DROUGHT, EAST KAʻŪ IS EXPERIENCING MODERATE DROUGHT while west Kaʻū is Abnormally Dry, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor analysis released on Friday. None of the island is receiving its normal rainfall. The Severe Drought at Kalae means pasture conditions are poor and fire risk is high, according to the federal report.

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Ka‘ū News Briefs, Friday, Sept. 30, 2022

THE 32ND HAWAI'I INTERNATIONAL TROPICAL FRUIT CONFERENCE is set for Nov. 4-6 with the title Propagation! Send in the Clones. The 2022 conference returns to its annual in-person format with a full lineup of educational offerings, tours and a trade show. It will be held at the Royal Kona Resort.

  Geared to farmers, educators, orchard managers and proponents of sustainable agriculture, the conference is presented by the statewide Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers and open to the public.
    "This year's conference offers a lineup of visiting researchers and agro experts, plus breakout sessions on a variety of fruit-related topics," shares Ken Love, HTFG executive director. "As our last two conferences were virtual, we look forward to networking, learning and having some fun."

    Banana industry guru Gabe Sachter-Smith will discuss propagation techniques for enhanced banana production. Other conference topics cover shipping malama and finger limes to the US Mainland, controlling avocado lace bugs and fruit flies, passion fruit, understanding the USDA permitting system, increased fruit production via the Mango Loa Project and fertigation—the process of directly applying fertilizer through an irrigation system.    

    Interactive activities include a fruit tasting and fruit-themed dinner with Chef George Gomes, plus demonstrations by Preece, Love and Brian Lievens.  

    The conference includes a visit to the South Kona Green Market, and the Hawai'i Tropical Fruit Growers' Containment Greenhouse & Nursery.
    Research updates will be provided by Dr. Marisa Wall, director of the Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center while state Sen. Mike Gabbard, committee chair on agriculture and environment, will offer a legislative update.
    The featured presenter is Dr. John Preece, supervisory research leader at the USDA Agricultural Research Service National Clonal Germplasm Repository, who will share his expertise on propagation techniques for tropical fruit trees.
    The conference is made possible with the support of the Hawai'i Department of Agriculture, County of Hawai'i and HTFG members from across the state.
    Registration forms and fee schedule are available at www.HTFG.org or by contacting Love at kenlove@hawaiiantel.net or Mark Suiso at mark.suiso@gmail.com.
    Hawai'i Tropical Fruit Growers was incorporated in 1989 to promote tropical fruit grown in Hawaii. It is a statewide association of tropical fruit growers, packers, distributors and hobbyists dedicated to tropical fruit research, education, marketing and promotion; www.HTFG.org.

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 Kelson Gallano, Dusty Silva and Novi Czyscon, Guardians of the Trail Youth Interns at the Crater.
FHVNP photo by Moses Espaniola III

GUARDIANS OF THE TRAILS YOUTH INTERN PROGRAM has drawn another $60,000 awarded to Friends of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Friends of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park's Guardians of the Trails is in its third year. The National Park Foundation awarded $35k and Helen Wright provided an individual donation of $25k. This is the second 25k donation from Wright to the Friends. 

    This year, funds provide a five month paid salary to Hawai'i island youth to work in the park maintaining and rehabbing trails, as well as removing 300,000 invasive ginger plants. Led by Friendʻs Guardians of the Trails Youth Supervisor, Moses Espaniola, III, this program started July 1 and runs through Dec. 5.
    In 2020, the Friends started the program with a grant from the National Park Foundation of $150k. Those funds employed six youth and purchase of a new 11 passenger van and equipment. The program successfully operated during COVID. 
    "We are grateful to the National Park Foundation and Ms. Helen Wright for their support of Hawai'i

Elizabeth Fien, FHVNP CEO, Moses Espaniola III, Kelson Gallano, Dusty

Silva and Novi Czyscon with Guardians of the Trail.

FVNP Photo by Lynette Smith

island youth, which in turn benefits the park and our local community, said Friends CEO Elizabeth Fien. 

    Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park Superintendent Rhonda Loh said, "We are thrilled to have the Guardians back with so many projects in the park - they are a great addition. The program gives opportunities for our community youth to learn new skills while supporting the park."  
    Friends is the official philanthropic partner of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, a 501 (c) 3 and operates under a formal partnership agreement with the National Park Service. "It supports the National Park Service in the protection, preservation and interpretation of the natural and cultural resources at Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park for the enjoyment of current and future generations," says a statement from Friends.
    The National Park Foundation works to protect wildlife and park lands, preserve history and culture, educate and engage youth, and connect people everywhere to the wonder of parks. It operates in collaboration with the National Park Service, the park partner community, and with "generous support of donors, without whom our work would not be possible," says its statement. Learn more at

Guardian Novi Czyscon treats invasive ginger stumps
after cutting them back. FHVNP photo by Moses Espaniola III

www.nationalparks.org.
    The National Park Foundation's Service Corps. "opens the door to a world of opportunities to gain leadership skills and give back to national parks," said Will Shafroth, president and CEO of the National Park Foundation. "The National Park Foundation and our partners are proud to support programs that make lasting positive impacts for both parks and people."
    The National Park Foundation is investing more than $4.1 million in service corps programs in fiscal year 2022, including support from Communities and Workforce program partners Carhartt, Winnebago and Winnebago Industries Foundation, and partners Nature Valley, Apple, REI Co-op, American Express, Free People, and Publix Super Markets. Additional funding is provided by The JPB Foundation, Annie and Kevin Parker, and many other donors. Select projects are also being leveraged with federal funds that were authorized and appropriated for the National Park Foundation under the 2016 National Park Service Centennial Act (PL 114-289).

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CRATER FILLING AT KILAUEA IS LIKE INJECTING HAUPIA CREME INTO A CRISPY MALASADA. It's sometimes like pouring liquid into a mug. These are comparisons in this week's Volcano Watch, the weekly article and activity update written by U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists and affiliates:

    Since December 2020, two eruptions have been filling the deep pit crater left by the 2018 subsidence of Kīlauea caldera. The first eruption started in late December 2020 and lasted five months. The second eruption continues and reached one year old on Thursday, Sept. 29. As of this week, more than 150 million cubic meters (over 39 billion gallons) of new lava have filled that pit and lifted its floor almost 370 meters (1200 feet) higher than the deepest point of 2018 subsidence.

KWcam image taken on Sept. 28, 2021, before the eruption began in Halemaʻumaʻu on Sept. 29, 2021.  Several islands, including the one in the center of the crater that formed on Dec. 20, 2020, are surrounded by younger lava flows erupted during the December 2020-May 2021 Kīlauea summit eruption. USGS photo

    The first eruption started on Dec. 20, 2020, and by the new year, the lava level had risen more than 180 meters (590 feet). The last activity was observed on May 23, 2021, after lava had filled 225 meters (739 feet) of the pit. The crusted crater floor had an area of 45 hectares (111 acres) capping a volume of 41 million cubic meters (over 10 billion gallons) of mostly molten lava. The crater floor was adorned with a main island (formed in the first hours of the 2020-21 eruption), several smaller islands to the east, and a small vent cone at its west edge. The high point of the island was about 25 meters (82 feet) above the surrounding crater floor.
    Activity picked up again on Sept. 29, 2021, from a new western cone and from the edges of the crater floor. As of Sept. 12, the 2021-22 eruption has added 111 million cubic meters (29.3 billion gallons) of lava, raised the crater floor another 140 meters (460 feet), and more-than-doubled the area of the 2020-21 crater floor.
    Current views of Halemaʻumaʻu show a central oval-shaped plate of 2020-21 crust with its main island frozen into it. While the 2020-21 crater floor is being lifted, new floor is being added around its edges by the 2021-22 ongoing eruption. The erupting vent, called the west cone, seems to be frozen in the same position at the west edge of the 2020-21 crater floor. Currently, the small lava lake occupies less than 1 percent of the crater floor.
    The crater floor continues to rise, with a few brief drops, like the top of a piston with the crust mostly intact at its top. Because the pit is shaped like a funnel, the uplifted crater floor must get larger as it moves upward.
    While it may seem odd that more lava is not erupted over the crater floor to build it higher flow by flow, history shows us that this piston-like uplift from beneath the floor is a common mechanism by which Kīlauea fills its craters. Rev. Titus Coan recognized this in the 1800s when the central part of the caldera floor rose almost 60 meters (197 feet) between two of his semiannual visits. He deduced that it was uplifted from beneath because plants were undisturbed on the raised plateau.
    Thomas Jaggar, founder of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, observed this process several times between 1916 and 1924. The crater floor would uplift at long-term rates of 0.5-1.5 meters (1.5-5 feet)/day over several months with the faster rates at the start of the uplift.

KWcam image taken on Sept. 27, 2022. The floor of Halemaʻumaʻu has grown in area and elevation due to the ongoing eruption in crater. The island that formed on Dec. 20, 2020, is surrounded by younger lava flows so what is seen on the surface of Halemaʻumaʻu crater floor today represents the oldest and youngest deposits from these recent eruptions. USGS photo

    The 2020-21 and 2021-22 crater floors rose at similar rates. Daily rise rates were higher at the beginning of both recent eruptions but it’s too soon to tell whether the rates are constant or slowing.
    On occasion, the 2021-22 eruption lava has covered substantial portions of the crater floor with new lava. The highest parts of the 2020-21 main island are still visible, but the island has been surrounded by about 10 meters (33 feet) of surface flows. Meanwhile, the crater floor was uplifted an additional 130 meters (427 feet) by lava beneath the crust. In other words, most of the molten lava added to Halemaʻumaʻu pit crater has not been seen by observers on the surface. Only a small fraction of it trickles out occasionally covering part of the crater floor.
    Our malasada analogy breaks down when one considers what would happen if a malasada were injected with filling for more than a few seconds! The Halemaʻumaʻu crater floor will continue to rise with continued injection of lava but, sadly, the malasada would burst and become a puddle of pudding. But it would still be a good companion to your morning beverage.
    Volcano Activity Updates: Kīlauea volcano is erupting. Its USGS Volcano Alert level is at WATCH (https://www.usgs.gov/natural-hazards/volcano-hazards/about-alert-levels). Kīlauea updates are issued daily.
    Over the past week, lava has continued to erupt from the western vent within Halemaʻumaʻu crater in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Sulfur dioxide emission rates remain elevated and were last measured at approximately 970 tonnes per day (t/d) on September 28. Seismicity is elevated but stable, with few earthquakes and ongoing volcanic tremor. Over the past week, summit tiltmeters recorded several minor deflation-inflation (DI) events. For more information on the current eruption of Kīlauea, see https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/recent-eruption   Mauna Loa is not erupting and remains at Volcano Alert Level ADVISORY. This alert level does not mean that an eruption is imminent or that progression to an eruption from the current level of unrest is certain. Mauna Loa updates are issued weekly.

See The Kaʻū Calendar print edition in mailboxes throughout
 Volcano, Pāhala, Nāʻālehu and Ocean View and on stands.

    This past week, over 400 small-magnitude earthquakes were recorded below the summit and upper elevation flanks of Mauna Loa—the majority of these occurred at shallow depths less than 15 kilometers (9 miles) below sea level. Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements show low rates of ground deformation over the past week. This increase in seismicity does not mean that an eruption is imminent nor that progression to an eruption is certain. Gas concentrations and fumarole temperatures at both the summit and at Sulphur Cone on the Southwest Rift Zone have remained stable over the past week. Webcams show no changes to the landscape. For more information on current monitoring of Mauna Loa, see: https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/mauna-loa/monitoring.
    Five earthquakes were reported felt in the Hawaiian Islands during the past week: a M2.3 earthquake 11 km (6 mi) ENE of Pāhala at 32 km (19 mi) depth on Sept. 27 at 12:55 p.m. HST, a M4.5 earthquake 9 km (5 mi) ENE of Pāhala at 32 km (19 mi) depth on Sept. 27 at 12:43 p.m. HST, a M2.0 earthquake 10 km (6 mi) ENE of Pāhala at 29 km (18 mi) depth on Sept. 25 at 7:39 a.m. HST, a M3.5 earthquake 10 km (6 mi) ENE of Pāhala at 31 km (19 mi) depth on Sept. 23 at 8:43 p.m. HST, a M2.9 earthquake 2 km (1 mi) NNE of Kahaluu-Keauhou at 18 km (11 mi) depth on Sept. 22 at 6:00 a.m. HST.
    HVO continues to closely monitor Kīlauea's ongoing eruption and Mauna Loa for any signs of increased activity. Visit HVO’s website for past Volcano Watch articles, Kīlauea and Mauna Loa updates, volcano photos, maps, recent earthquake info, and more. Email questions to askHVO@usgs.gov.

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