Final answer:
Earthquakes at Kilauea, situated above a mantle hot spot, can be both deep and shallow. The initial statement is false; not all earthquakes below Kilauea are deep events in the mantle. Mantle hot spot volcanism, like that of the Hawaiian Islands, accounts for various seismic activities, including that at Kilauea.
Step-by-step explanation:
Earthquakes and the Theory of Plate Tectonics
Earthquakes occur as a result of the movement of the Earth's tectonic plates. These can happen along all types of plate boundaries but differ in nature depending on the type of boundary. Divergent plate boundaries, such as mid-ocean ridges, tend to have shallow earthquakes and some volcanic activity. Convergent boundaries, where a denser oceanic plate subducts beneath a continental plate, can feature a variety of earthquake depths, from shallow to deep, and are also associated with volcanism due to the partial melting of the mantle above the subducting slab.
In contrast, earthquakes related to transform boundaries occur at shallow depths and typically do not have associated volcanism. However, the statement that earthquakes below the Kilauea volcano are dominantly deep events in the mantle is false. Kilauea is situated above a mantle hot spot and not near a plate boundary. Mantle plumes beneath these hot spots can cause both deep and shallow seismic activity associated with moving magma and adjustments within the Earth's crust.
The locations of volcanoes near subduction zones can be close to or further from the coastline depending on the angle of subduction and the position of the volcanic arc that forms above the subduction zone. Mantle hot spots, like the one beneath the Hawaiian Islands, form volcanic chains as the tectonic plate moves over a stationary plume of magma coming from deep within the Earth's mantle. The Hawaiian Islands, including the Kilauea volcano, were formed in this manner, and the associated earthquake activity at Kilauea is indicative of hot spot volcanism.