The hottest vents that were at 200 deg C last year are now at only 160 deg C and still issuing as fairly diffuse flow. Hydrothermal chimney structures are small and unconsolidated. A single CTD cast into the pit revealed that bottom waters are still gassy with CO 2 derived from the seamount, resulting in a pH of about 5.98. There is nothing new to report regarding geologic or other activity on Loihi seamount. As far as we can tell using our shore-based instrumentation, the seamount has been quite.
Testing is underway to determine where the short is.
Repairs may not be able to be effected until Fall of 1998. More details are available at the HUGO web site. Continuous real-time monitoring revealed in Feb that Loihi again appears to be erupting. This is based upon transient acoustic signals recorded on the hydrophone. The signals vary in frequency from several Hz to several KHz, and in duration from seconds to minutes.