a research geologist at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and co-author of a new study in Nature Communications. When pressure was high enough, the magma broke through brittle surface rock and became lava – and the eruption began in late November 2022.

About two months before Mauna Loa spewed rivers of glowing orange molten lava, geologists detected small earthquakes nearby and other warning signs.

About two months before Maunaloa spewed lava, geologists detected small earthquakes nearby and other signals. Now a study of the volcano’s lava confirms that molten rock within Earth's crust was rising upward about 70 days before the eruption in late November 2022.