Determine extent, geometry, and melt fraction of Kilauea’s deep magma conduit

Determine the spatial extent, three-dimensional geometry, and compositional melt fraction of the columnar magma conduit hypothesized to extend downward from Kilauea’s shallow magma reservoirs toward the mantle, in order to characterize the volcano’s deep magmatic plumbing system and its role in magma supply and pressure transmission.

Background

Kilauea is supplied by magma from depths of 80–100 km, and multiple geophysical observations suggest vertically connected melt-bearing structures beneath the caldera. Gravity anomalies and concentrations of long-period seismicity indicate a potential columnar conduit linking shallow reservoirs to deeper sources.

Despite these indications, prior tomographic models have not definitively resolved the conduit’s detailed structure. Establishing the extent, geometry, and melt fraction within this conduit is crucial for understanding magma transport dynamics, short-term magma surges, and the coupling between surface unrest and deep seismicity.

References

While density anomalies constrained by gravity modeling and concentrations of long-period seismicity suggest the existence of a columnar magma conduit extending downwards from Kilauea’s shallow reservoirs, the extent, geometry, and compositional melt fraction of this structure is still unknown.

— High-resolution eikonal imaging and uncertainty quantification of the Kilauea caldera  (2507.23692 - Gao et al., 31 Jul 2025) in Introduction (Section 1), paragraph beginning “While density anomalies constrained by gravity modeling …”