Volcano Information

Kilauea

WATCH

ORANGE

Current Update, last updated May 20, 2012 08:30 HST:
Activity Summary for past 24 hours: No significant changes; lava was generally at high levels in both summit and rift vents. At Pu`u `O`o, glow persisted from the usual sources and lava was visible in the eastern collapse pit; to the southeast, surface flows from coastal plain breakouts advanced but had not reached the ocean. Seismic tremor levels were generally low; gas emissions were elevated.

Past 24 hours at Kilauea summit: The summit tiltmeters showed no significant changes over the past day; the summit remains in an inflated state. The lava lake at Halema`uma`u remains at a high level, with the level being relatively steady over the past day. A minor rise-fall event happened around 6:30 am this morning, and spattering over the past day has been common along the south margin of the lake. The high points in lava level over the past few days were measured using a laser rangefinder to be 60 m (200 ft) below the floor of Halema`uma`u Crater - among the highest levels we have measured for the lake. The most recent (preliminary) sulfur dioxide emission rate measurement was 600 tonnes/day on May 18, 2012. There was no ash collection this morning, but presumably small amounts of ash-sized tephra, including fresh bits of spatter from spattering at the edge of the lava lake, were carried out of the vent in the gas plume.

The GPS network recorded weak extension over the past few months. Seismic tremor levels were low. Eleven earthquakes were strong enough to be located beneath Kilauea volcano over the past day: 5 on the upper east rift zone and 6 on the south flank.

Background: The summit lava lake is deep within a ~160 m (520 ft) diameter cylindrical vent with nearly vertical sides inset within the east wall and floor of Halema`uma`u Crater. Its level fluctuates from about 60 m to more than 150 m (out of sight) below the floor of Halema`uma`u Crater. The vent has been mostly active since opening with a small explosive event on March 19, 2008. Most recently, the lava level of the lake has remained below an inner ledge (60 m or 200 ft below the floor of Halema`uma`u Crater on May 9, 2012) and responded to summit tilt changes with the lake receding during deflation and rising during inflation.

Past 24 hours at the middle east rift zone vents: Lava flow activity continued on the pali and the coastal plain southeast of Pu`u `O`o. Webcam images showed that the active flows on the coastal plain made little advancement towards the ocean overnight and were still about 1 km (0.6 miles) from the water; there is still no ocean entry.

The tiltmeter on the north flank of Pu`u `O`o cone recorded no significant change over the past day. The eastern lava pond in Pu`u `O`o crater remained in view of the webcam, and an apparent small collapse of the northern rim of the eastern pit occurred around 9 pm last night, enlarging the pit (and lava pond within) slightly. A tiny lava flow was erupted from the southern vent in the crater around 11 am yesterday. Seismic tremor levels near Pu`u `O`o remained low. GPS receivers on opposite sides of the cone recorded weak extension. The most recent (preliminary) sulfur dioxide emission rate measurement was 500 tonnes/day on May 18, 2012, from all east rift zone sources.

Background: The eruption in Kilauea's middle east rift zone started with a fissure eruption on January 3, 1983, and has continued since at Pu`u `O`o Cone, or from vents within a few kilometers to the east or west, with few interruptions. A fissure eruption on the upper east flank of Pu`u `O`o Cone on Sept. 21, 2011, drained the lava lakes and fed a lava flow that advanced southeast through the abandoned Royal Gardens subdivision to the ocean within Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park in early December. The ocean entry has been inactive since late December but the flows have remained intermittently active on the pali and the coastal plain. In general, activity waxes with inflation and wanes with deflation.

Hazard Summary: East rift vents and flow field - near-vent areas could erupt or collapse without warning with spatter and/or ash being wafted within the gas plume; potentially-lethal concentrations of sulfur dioxide gas may be present within 1 km downwind of vent areas. All recently active lava flows are within Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, adjacent State land managed by the Department of Land and Natural Resources, and private property within the Royal Gardens subdivision; the lava flows do not pose a hazard to any structures not already within the County-declared mandatory evacuation zone. Kilauea Crater - ash and Pele's hair can be carried several kilometers downwind; potentially-lethal concentrations of sulfur dioxide can be present within 1 km downwind.

Viewing Summary: East rift zone flow field - Active lava flows within the closed-access Kahauale'a Natural Area Reserve (NAR) and the evacuated Royal Gardens subdivision can only be viewed from the air. Under favorable weather conditions, the flows can be seen from the County Viewing Area at Kalapana (Lava hotline 961-8093) and in the R2, R3, and R4 webcams. Pu`u `O`o Cone and Kilauea Crater - these areas are within Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park; access and viewing information can be found at http://www.nps.gov/havo/planyourvisit/lava2.htm.
Volcanic History Overview: Kilauea volcano is one of the most active and best studied volcanoes in the world and is renowned for the accessability of her eruptions. Throughout her history, Kilauea has erupted from three main areas, its summit and two rift zones. Kilauea currently has a summit caldera, but it may not always have been evident. Most eruptions are relatively gentle, sending lava flows downslope from fountains a few meters to a few hundred meters high. Over and over again these eruptions occur, gradually building up the volcano and giving it a gentle, shield-like form. Every few decades to centuries, however, powerful explosions spread ejecta across the landscape. Such explosions can be lethal, as the one in 1790 that killed scores of people in a war party near the summit of Kilauea. Such explosions can take place from either the summit or the upper rift zones. Kilauea has erupted more than 60 times in the past 150 years. The current eruption began in 1983.
Location: Hawaii and Pacific Ocean, HI

Latitude: 19.421
Longitude: -155.287
Elevation: 1247 m

Recent Eruption: Ongoing
Hazard Assessments: Kauahikaua. Jim, 2007, Lava Flow Hazard Assessment, as of August 2007, for Kīlauea East Rift Zone Eruptions, Hawai`i Island, Open-File Report 2007-1264.
Link to monitoring data: Recent Earthquakes in Hawaii Page