Whats happening at Mauna Loa?
Mauna Loa has gone 18.5 years without eruption–the second longest dry spell since detailed records begin in 1843. The longest period without eruption lasted 25 years, between 1950 and 1975. Clearly the past 52 years have been much less active than the previous 107. Following its latest eruption, in March-April 1984, the volcano continued to inflate, quickly at first but then more slowly. By the early 1990s, the level of inflation had nearly reached that before 1984. This alone is an unreliable measure of the readiness for any volcano to erupt, because volcanoes change internally over time so that the basis of comparison also changes. The continued inflation, however, did make people wonder if the next eruption was to be sooner rather than later. By 1994, however, the inflation had ceased, and the summit actually began to deflate. The rate of deflation was small but steady, continuing right up to May of this year. The pattern of slow deflation changed rather abruptly in mid-May. In fac
