Monitoring Undersea Crustal Deformation of the South Flank of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii

The south flank of Kilauea Volcano on the island of Hawaii undergoes large-scale deformation as a result of volcanic and tectonic processes. Most of the surface of Kilauea Volcano is submerged so that undersea monitoring of crustal deformation is needed to provide a complete model of its structure and dynamics. In November of 2000, an array of eight acoustic transponders and six seafloor benchmarks were installed offshore on the south flank of Kilauea. During a three-year study, this array will monitor horizontal deformation at six sites with centimeter accuracy by combining GPS and acoustic techniques. Vertical deformation will be monitored at fourteen sites to decimeter accuracy by combining pressure and CTD data. Multi-beam sonar mapping and near bottom side-scan sonar data were also collected to place the seafloor geodetic array in a geologic context. The overall goal of this project is to combine offshore and subaerial geologic and geodetic data to generate an improved model for the deformation and dynamics of Kilauea Volcano.