Big bang shakes Kilauea

Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island was shaken by a rare explosion at 02:58 local time (12:58 GMT) on 20 March 2008. The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory press release reports the event as follows:

At 2:58 a.m. H.s.t on Wednesday, March 19, 2008, a small explosion occurred at Halema‘uma‘u Crater at the summit of Kilauea Volcano in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. This event was erroneously reported as an earthquake earlier this morning. The explosion scattered debris over an area of about 75 acres (30 hectares), covering a portion of Crater Rim Drive and damaging the Halema‘uma‘u overlook. No lava was erupted as part of the explosion, suggesting that the activity was driven by hydrothermal or gas sources.

The debris thrown out by this explosion, which left a small (20-30 metre diameter) crater in the east wall of Halema’uma’u crater varied from under 2 centimetres to around 1 cubic metre in size. Just before the explosion, at 02:55, the HVO recorded a series of seismic events that may have been shallow high-frequency earthquakes or minor explosions, while the main 02:58 explosion was associated with high seismicity.

Such explosive events are rare at gently (if powerfully) effusive Kilauea. The last explosion in the Kilauea caldera was in 1983, while the last at Halema’uma’u was in 1924.

Information
Smithsonian Institution Global Volcanism Program – summary information for Kilauea (1302-01-)
USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory – main page for the HVO
HVO Kilauea Status Page – the latest activity reports for Kilauea

News
Rare explosion jolts Hawaii volcano – Associated Press, 20 March 2008
Quake rattles Hawaii volcano – KPUA.net, 20 March 2008
Hawaii volcano explosion hurls boulders – United Press International, 20 March 2008
Halemaumau blast sends boulders aloft – Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 20 March 2008
Kilauea summit erupts – Hawaii Magazine, 20 March 2008