Hawaiian Volcano Observatory maintains monitoring network in American Samoa

Staff from the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) recently completed a two-week mission to American Samoa to maintain the region's volcano monitoring network. The trip, conducted during August and September, included repairing and servicing monitoring equipment and performing K-12 educational outreach alongside local emergency management partners.

American Samoa's inhabited islands are all volcanic. The HVO maintains responsibility for the area due to the hot spot volcanism that created both the Hawaiian and Samoan archipelagos. This follows a period of seismic unrest in July 2022, when earthquakes at the Ta‘u volcano affected the Manu‘a Islands for six weeks before returning to normal activity levels in September 2022.

Historical records note significant activity in the region, including an 1866 eruption of the Ofu-Olosega volcano and an eruption of the Tutuila volcano approximately 1,500 years ago.