Kamaûehuakanaloa Seamount (previously known as Là Âûihi) is an active submarine volcano about off the southeast coast of the island of Hawaii. The top of the seamount is about below sea level. This seamount is on the flank of Mauna Loa, the largest subaerial active shield volcano on Earth. Kamaûehuakanaloa is the newest volcano in the HawaiianâÂÂEmperor seamount chain, a string of volcanoes that stretches about northwest of Kamaûehuakanaloa. Unlike most active volcanoes in the Pacific Ocean that make up the active plate margins on the Pacific Ring of Fire, Kamaûehuakanaloa and the other volcanoes of the HawaiianâÂÂEmperor seamount chain are hotspot volcanoes and formed well away from the nearest plate boundary. Volcanoes in the Hawaiian Islands arise from the Hawaii hotspot, and as the youngest volcano in the chain, Kamaûehuakanaloa is the only Hawaiian volcano in the deep submarine preshield stage of development.
Kamaûehuakanaloa began forming around 400,000 years ago and is expected to begin emerging above sea level about 10,000âÂÂ100,000 years from now. At its summit, Kamaûehuakanaloa Seamount stands more than above the seafloor, making it taller than Mount St. Helens was before its catastrophic 1980 eruption. A diverse microbial community resides around Kamaûehuakanaloa's many hydrothermal vents.
In the summer of 1996, a swarm of 4,070 earthquakes was recorded at Kamaûehuakanaloa. At the time this was the most energetic earthquake swarm in Hawaii recorded history. The swarm altered of the seamount's summit; one section, Pele's Vents, collapsed entirely upon itself and formed the renamed Pele's Pit. The volcano has remained relatively active since the 1996 swarm and is monitored by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The Hawaii Undersea Geological Observatory (HUGO) provided real-time data on Kamaûehuakanaloa between 1997 and 1998. Kamaûehuakanaloa's last known eruption was in 1996, before the earthquake swarm of that summer.
The name Kamaûehuakanaloa is a Hawaiian language word for "glowing child of Kanaloa", the god of the ocean. This name was found in two Hawaiian mele from the 19th and early twentieth centuries based on research at the Bishop Museum and was assigned by the Hawaiûi Board on Geographic Names in 2021 and adopted by the U.S. Geological Survey. From 1955 to 2021 the seamount was called "Là Âûihi", the Hawaiian word for "long", describing its shape. The change to Kamaûehuakanaloa was made in an effort to be more culturally appropriate given native Hawaiian traditions for naming.
Kamaûehuakanaloa is a seamount, or underwater volcano, on the flank of Mauna Loa, the Earth's tallest shield volcano. It is the newest volcano produced by the Hawaiûi hotspot in the extensive HawaiianâÂÂEmperor seamount chain. The distance between the summit of the older Mauna Loa and the summit of Kamaûehuakanaloa is about , which is, coincidentally, also the approximate diameter of the Hawaiûi hotspot. Kamaûehuakanaloa consists of a summit area with three pit craters, a long rift zone extending north from the summit, and a long rift zone extending south-southeast from the summit.
The summit's pit craters are named West Pit, East Pit, and Pele's Pit. Pele's Pit is the youngest of this group and is located at the southern part of the summit. The walls of Pele's Pit stand high and were formed in July 1996 when its predecessor, Pele's Vent, a hydrothermal field near Kamaûehuakanaloa summit, collapsed into a large depression. The thick crater walls of Pele's Pit â averaging in width, unusually thick for Hawaiian volcanic craters â suggest its craters have filled with lava multiple times in the past.
Kamaûehuakanaloa's northâÂÂsouth trending rift zones form a distinctive elongated shape, from which the volcano's earlier Hawaiian name "Là Âûihi," meaning "long", derives. The north rift zone consists of a longer western portion and a shorter eastern rift zone. Observations show that both the north and south rift zones lack sediment cover, indicating recent activity. A bulge in the western part of the north rift zone contains three cone-shaped prominences.
Until 1970, Kamaûehuakanaloa was thought to be an inactive volcano that had been transported to its current location by sea-floor spreading. The seafloor under Hawaii is years old and was produced at the East Pacific Rise, an oceanic spreading center where new sea floor forms from magma that erupts from the mantle. New oceanic crust moves away from the spreading center. Over a period of years, the sea floor under Hawaii moved from the East Pacific Rise to its present location west, carrying ancient seamounts with it. When scientists investigated a series of earthquakes off Hawaii in 1970, they discovered that Kamaûehuakanaloa was an active member of the HawaiianâÂÂEmperor seamount chain.
Kamaûehuakanaloa is built on the seafloor with a slope of about five degrees. Its northern base on the flank of Mauna Loa is below sea level, but its southern base is a more substantial below the surface. Thus, the summit is above the seafloor as measured from the base of its north flank, but high when measured from the base of its southern flank. Kamaûehuakanaloa is following the pattern of development that is characteristic of all Hawaiian volcanoes. Geochemical evidence from Kamaûehuakanaloa's lavas indicates that Kamaûehuakanaloa is in transition between the preshield and shield volcano stage, providing clues to the early development of Hawaiian volcanoes. In the preshield stage, Hawaiian volcanoes have steeper sides and a lower level of activity, producing an alkali basalt lava. Continued volcanism is expected to eventually give birth to an island at Kamaûehuakanaloa. It experiences frequent landslides; the growth of the volcano has destabilized its slopes, and extensive areas of debris inhabit the steep southeastern face. Similar deposits from other Hawaiian volcanoes indicate that landslide debris is an important product of the early development of Hawaiian volcanoes. Kamaûehuakanaloa is predicted to rise above the surface in 10,000 to 100,000 years.
Radiometric dating was used to determine the age of rock samples from Kamaûehuakanaloa. The Hawaii Center for Volcanology tested samples recovered by various expeditions, notably the 1978 expedition, which provided 17 dredge samples. Most of the samples were found to be of recent origin; the oldest dated rock is around 300,000 years old. Following the 1996 event, some young breccia was also collected. Based on the samples, scientists estimate Kamaûehuakanaloa is about 400,000 years old. The rock accumulates at an average rate of per year near the base, and near the summit. If the data model from other volcanoes such as Këlauea holds true for Kamaûehuakanaloa, 40% of the volcano's mass formed within the last 100,000 years. Assuming a linear growth rate, Kamaûehuakanaloa is 250,000 years old. However, as with all hotspot volcanoes, Kamaûehuakanaloa's level of activity has increased with time; therefore, it would take at least 400,000 years for such a volcano to reach Kamaûehuakanaloa's mass. As Hawaiian volcanoes drift northwest at a rate of about a year, Kamaûehuakanaloa was southeast of its current position at the time of its initial eruption.
Kamaûehuakanaloa is a young and fairly active volcano, although less active than nearby Këlauea. In the past few decades, several earthquake swarms have been attributed to Kamaûehuakanaloa, the largest of which are summarized in the table below. The volcano's activity is now known to predate scientific record keeping of its activity, which commenced in 1959. Most earthquake swarms at Kamaûehuakanaloa have lasted less than two days; the two exceptions are the 1990-1991 earthquake, lasting several months, and the 1996 event, which was shorter but much more pronounced. The 1996 event was directly observed by an ocean bottom seismometer (OBS), allowing scientists to calculate the depth of the earthquakes as to below the summit, approximating to the position of Kamaûehuakanaloa's extremely shallow magma chamber. This is evidence that Kamaûehuakanaloa's seismicity is volcanic in origin.
The low-level seismic activity documented on Kamaûehuakanaloa since 1959 has shown that between two and ten earthquakes per month are traceable to the summit. Earthquake swarm data have been used to analyze how well Kamaûehuakanaloa's rocks propagate seismic waves and to investigate the relationship between earthquakes and eruptions. This low level activity is periodically punctuated by large swarms of earthquakes, each swarm composed of up to hundreds of earthquakes. The majority of the earthquakes are not distributed close to the summit, though they follow a northâÂÂsouth trend. Rather, most of the earthquakes occur in the southwest portion of Kamaûehuakanaloa. The largest recorded swarms took place on Kamaûehuakanaloa in 1971, 1972, 1975, 1991âÂÂ92 and 1996. The nearest seismic station is around from Kamaûehuakanaloa, on the south coast of Hawaii. Seismic events that have a magnitude under 2 are recorded often, but their location cannot be determined as precisely as it can for larger events. In fact, HUGO (Hawaii Undersea Geological Observatory), positioned on Kamaûehuakanaloa's flank, detected ten times as many earthquakes as were recorded by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) seismic network.
The largest amount of activity recorded for the Kamaûehuakanaloa seamount was a swarm of 4,070 earthquakes between July 16 and August 9, 1996. This series of earthquakes was the largest recorded for any Hawaiian volcano to date in both amount and intensity. Most of the earthquakes had moment magnitudes of less than 3.0. "Several hundred" had a magnitude greater than 3.0, including more than 40 greater than 4.0 and a 5.0 tremor.
The final two weeks of the earthquake swarm were observed by a rapid response cruise launched in August 1996. The National Science Foundation funded an expedition by University of Hawaiûi scientists, led by Frederick Duennebier, that began investigating the swarm and its origin in August 1996. The scientists' assessment laid the groundwork for many of the expeditions that followed. Follow-up expeditions to Kamaûehuakanaloa took place, including a series of crewed submersible dives in August and September. These were supplemented by a great deal of shore-based research. Fresh rock collected during the expedition revealed that an eruption occurred before the earthquake swarm.
Submersible dives in August were followed by NOAA-funded research in September and October 1996. These more detailed studies showed the southern portion of Kamaûehuakanaloa's summit had collapsed, a result of a swarm of earthquakes and the rapid withdrawal of magma from the volcano. A crater across and deep formed out of the rubble. The event involved the movement of cubic meters of volcanic material. A region of of the summit was altered and populated by bus-sized pillow lava blocks, precariously perched along the outer rim of the newly formed crater. "Pele's Vents", an area on the southern side, previously considered stable, collapsed completely into a giant pit, renamed "Pele's Pit". Strong currents make submersible diving hazardous in the region.
The researchers were continually met by clouds of sulfide and sulfate. The sudden collapse of Pele's Vents caused a large discharge of hydrothermal material. The presence of certain indicator minerals in the mixture suggested temperatures exceeded , a record for an underwater volcano. The composition of the materials was similar to that of black smokers, the hydrothermal vent plumes located along mid-ocean ridges. Samples from mounds built by discharges from the hydrothermal plumes resembled white smokers.
The studies demonstrated that the most volcanically and hydrothermally active area was along the southern rift. Dives on the less active northern rim indicated that the terrain was more stable there, and high lava columns were still standing upright. A new hydrothermal vent field (Naha Vents) was located in the upper-south rift zone, at a depth of .
Kamaûehuakanaloa has remained largely quiet since the 1996 event; no activity was recorded from 2002 to 2004. The seamount showed signs of unrest again in 2005 by generating an earthquake bigger than any previously recorded there. USGS-ANSS (Advanced National Seismic System) reported two earthquakes, magnitudes 5.1 and 5.4, on May 13 and July 17. Both originated from a depth of . On April 23, a magnitude 4.3 earthquake was recorded at a depth of approximately . Between December 7, 2005, and January 18, 2006, a swarm of around 100 earthquakes occurred, the largest measuring 4 on the Moment magnitude scale and deep. Another earthquake measuring 4.7 was later recorded approximately midway between Kamaûehuakanaloa and PÃÂhala (on the south coast of the island of Hawaii).
Kamaûehuakanaloa Seamount's first depiction on a map was on Survey Chart 4115, a bathymetric rendering of part of Hawaiûi compiled by the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1940. At the time, the seamount was non-notable, being one of many in the region. A large earthquake swarm first brought attention to it in 1952. That same year, geologist Gordon A. Macdonald hypothesized that the seamount was actually an active submarine shield volcano, similar to the two active Hawaiian volcanoes, Mauna Loa and Këlauea. Macdonald's hypothesis placed the seamount as the newest volcano in the HawaiianâÂÂEmperor seamount chain, created by the Hawaiûi hotspot. However, because the earthquakes were oriented eastâÂÂwest (the direction of the volcanic fault) and there was no volcanic tremor in seismometers distant from the seamount, Macdonald attributed the earthquake to faulting rather than a volcanic eruption.
Geologists suspected the seamount could be an active undersea volcano, but without evidence the idea remained speculative. The volcano was largely ignored after the 1952 event, and was often mislabeled as an "older volcanic feature" in subsequent charts. Geologist Kenneth O. Emery is credited with naming the seamount in 1955, describing the long and narrow shape of the volcano as Là Âûihi. In 1978, an expedition studied intense, repeated seismic activity known as earthquake swarms in and around the Kamaûehuakanaloa area. Rather than finding an old, extinct seamount, data collected revealed Kamaûehuakanaloa to be a young, possibly active volcano. Observations showed the volcano to be encrusted with young and old lava flows. Fluids erupting from active hydrothermal vents were also found.
In 1978, a US Geological Survey research ship collected dredge samples and photographed Kamaûehuakanaloa's summit with the goal of studying whether Kamaûehuakanaloa is active. Analysis of the photos and testing of pillow lava rock samples appeared to show that the material was "fresh", yielding more evidence that Kamaûehuakanaloa is still active. An expedition from October 1980 to January 1981 collected further dredge samples and photographs, providing additional confirmation. Studies indicated that the eruptions came from the southern part of the rift crater. This area is closest to the Hawaiûi hotspot, which supplies Kamaûehuakanaloa with magma. Following a 1986 seismic event, a network of five ocean bottom observatories (OBOs) were deployed on Kamaûehuakanaloa for a month. Kamaûehuakanaloa's frequent seismicity makes it an ideal candidate for seismic study through OBOs. In 1987, the submersible DSV Alvin was used to survey Kamaûehuakanaloa Another autonomous observatory was positioned on Kamaûehuakanaloa in 1991 to track earthquake swarms.
The bulk of information about Kamaûehuakanaloa comes from dives made in response to the 1996 eruption. In a dive conducted almost immediately after seismic activity was reported, visibility was greatly reduced by high concentrations of displaced minerals and large floating mats of bacteria in the water. The bacteria that feed on the dissolved nutrients had already begun colonizing the new hydrothermal vents at Pele's Pit (formed from the collapse of the old ones), and may be indicators of the kinds of material ejected from the newly formed vents. They were carefully sampled for further analysis in a laboratory. An OBO briefly sat on the summit before a more permanent probe could be installed.
Repeated multibeam bathymetric mapping was used to measure the changes in the summit following the 1996 collapse. Hydrothermal plume surveys confirmed changes in the energy, and dissolved minerals emanating from Kamaûehuakanaloa. Hawaiûi Undersea Research Laboratory, HURL's submersible Pisces V allowed scientists to sample the vent waters, microorganisms and hydrothermal mineral deposits.
Since 2006, the Fe-Oxidizing Microbial Observatory (FeMO), funded by the National Science Foundation and Microbial Observatory Program, has led cruises to Kamaûehuakanaloa investigate its microbiology every October. The first cruise, on the ship R/V Melville and exploiting the submersible JASON2, lasted from September 22 to October 9. These cruises study the large number of Fe-oxidizing bacteria that have colonized Kamaûehuakanaloa. Kamaûehuakanaloa's extensive vent system is characterized by a high concentration of CO<sub>2</sub> and iron, while being low in sulfide. These characteristics make a perfect environment for iron-oxidizing bacteria, called FeOB, to thrive in.
In 1997, scientists from the University of Hawaiûi installed an ocean bottom observatory on the summit of Kamaûehuakanaloa Seamount. The submarine observatory was nicknamed HUGO (Hawaiûi Undersea Geological Observatory). HUGO was connected to the shore, away, by a fiber optic cable. It was designed to give scientists real-time seismic, chemical and visual data about the state of Kamaûehuakanaloa, which had by then become an international laboratory for the study of undersea volcanism. The cable that provided HUGO with power and communications broke in April 1998, effectively shutting it down. The observatory was recovered from the seafloor in 2002.
Kamaûehuakanaloa's mid-Pacific location and its well-sustained hydrothermal system contribute to a rich oasis for a microbial ecosystem. Areas of extensive hydrothermal venting are found on Kamaûehuakanaloa's crater floor and north slope, and along the summit of Kamaûehuakanaloa itself. Active hydrothermal vents were first discovered at Kamaûehuakanaloa in the late 1980s. These vents are remarkably similar to those found at the mid-ocean ridges, with similar composition and thermal differences. The two most prominent vent fields are at the summit: Pele's Pit (formally Pele's Vents) and Kapo's Vents. They are named after the Hawaiian deity Pele and her sister Kapo. These vents were considered "low temperature vents" because their waters were only about . The volcanic eruption of 1996 and the creation of Pele's Pit changed this, and initiated high temperature venting; exit temperatures were measured at in 1996.
The vents lie below the surface, and range in temperature from 10 to over . The vent fluids are characterized by a high concentration of (up to 17 mM) and Fe (Iron), but low in sulfide. Low oxygen and pH levels are important factors in supporting the high amounts of Fe (iron), one of the hallmark features of Kamaûehuakanaloa. These characteristics make a perfect environment for iron-oxidizing bacteria, called FeOB, to thrive in. An example of these species is Mariprofundus ferrooxydans, a member of the class Zetaproteobacteria. The composition of the materials was similar to that of black smokers, that are a habitat of archaea extremophiles. Dissolution and oxidation of the mineral observed over the next two years suggests the sulfate is not easily preserved.
A diverse community of microbial mats surround the vents and virtually cover Pele's Pit. The Hawaiûi Undersea Research Laboratory (HURL), NOAA's Research Center for Hawaiûi and the Western Pacific, monitors and researches the hydrothermal systems and studies the local community. The National Science Foundation (NSF) funded an extremophile sampling expedition to Kamaûehuakanaloa in 1999. Microbial mats surrounded the vents, and included a novel jelly-like organism. Samples were collected for study at NSF's Marine Bioproducts Engineering Center (MarBEC). In 2001, Pisces V collected samples of the organisms and brought them to the surface for study.
NOAA's National Undersea Research Center and NSF's Marine Bioproducts Engineering Center are cooperating to sample and research the local bacteria and archaea extremophiles. The fourth FeMO (Fe-Oxidizing Microbial Observatory) cruise occurred during October 2009.
Marine life inhabiting the waters around Kamaûehuakanaloa is not as diverse as life at other, less active seamounts. Fish found living near Kamaûehuakanaloa include the Celebes monkfish (Sladenia remiger), and members of the cutthroat eel family, Synaphobranchidae. Invertebrates identified in the area include two species endemic to the hydrothermal vents, a bresiliid shrimp (Opaepele loihi) of the family Alvinocarididae (described in 1995), and a tube or pogonophoran worm. Dives conducted after the 1996 earthquake swarms were unable to find either the shrimp or the worm, and it is not known if there are lasting effects on these species.
From 1982 to 1992, researchers in Hawaiûi Undersea Research Laboratory submersibles photographed the fish of Kamaûehuakanaloa Seamount, Johnston Atoll, and Cross Seamount at depths between . A small number of species identified at Kamaûehuakanaloa were newly recorded sightings in Hawaiûi, including the tasseled coffinfish (Chaunax fimbriatus), and the Celebes monkfish.