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USGS · 70022593

High magma storage rates before the 1983 eruption of Kilauea, Hawaii

Abstract

After a magnitude 7.2 earthquake in 1975 and before the start of the ongoing eruption in 1983, deformation of Kilauea volcano was the most rapid ever recorded. Three-dimensional numerical modeling shows that this deformation is consistent with the dilation of a dike within Kilauea's rift zones coupled with creep over a narrow area of a low-angle fault beneath the south flank. Magma supply is estimated to be 0.18 cubic kilometers per year, twice that of previous estimates. The 1983 eruption may be a direct consequence of the high rates of magma storage within the rift zone that followed the 1975 earthquake.

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V. Cayol, James H. Dieterich, A.T. Okamura, Asta Mikijus. 2000. High magma storage rates before the 1983 eruption of Kilauea, Hawaii. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.288.5475.2343

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