Thanks for the link, Chris. I just got around to reading the first abstract as you suggested. I'm a little confused. Early reports were that the slip was a result of stress imposed on the oceanic crust by the weight of the volcano/island. A readjustment, if you will. However, I can't figure out how the quake could occur as deep as 38km. The maximum depth of ocean crust runs around 10km, and adding what, maybe 4 or 5 km of ocean depth?, leaves us far short of the reported hypocenter depth. Shouldn't that be mantle that deep?

I'm guessing that the quake didn't really occur in ocean crust, but, rather, in the early volcanic rock of Mauna Loa's basement. Any thoughts? I just re-read the abstract, and I think it answered the question by its phrasing of "under the northwest flanks of Mauna Loa." So the early reports of crustal readjustment were inaccurate.

I'm guessing the vertical component of the slip was reverse?

Michael F. Williams
Arroyo Grande, CA USA