USGS Volcano Hazards Program Volcano Update
HVO update page and observatory web site
Activity Summary for past 24 hours: Overall activity levels were low. At the summit, deflation and lava lake recession slowed. Pu`u `O`o crater floor continued to collapse: a new crater formed in the northern floor, filled with lava, and the eastern pit crater enlarged yesterday. To the southeast of Pu`u `O`o, scattered lava flows were barely active on the coastal plain near the base of the pali. Seismic tremor levels were low. Gas emissions were elevated.
Past 24 hours at Kilauea summit: The summit tiltmeters recorded DI deflation bottoming at a little more than 6 microradians overnight. The lava lake level also bottomed and, instead, displayed several rise/fall events overnight. The most recent (preliminary) sulfur dioxide emission rate measurement was 700 tonnes/day on August 27, 2012; this value was a typical background level between rise/fall events. Small amounts of ash-sized tephra (spatter bits and Pele's hair) were carried out of the vent in the gas plume and deposited on nearby surfaces.
Seismic tremor levels were generally low but increasing slightly between rise/fall events; the magnitude-7.6 earthquake that occurred in the Philippines this morning roared through our seismic network just before 3 am but did not have any noticeable effect on the eruption. No earthquakes were strong enough to be located beneath Kilauea volcano although two deep quakes were located nearby on the Ka`oiki Seismic Zone between Mauna Loa and Kilauea summits.
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: At Pu`u `O`o Crater, collapses of the crater floor continued. A new pit crater formed at the northern edge of the floor, just below the POcam, after 10 am yesterday; at about 1 pm, lava started to fill the new crater which did not overflow but remained crusted most of the night into this morning. Overnight view of glow showed that a lava lake remained in the eastern pit crater but was apparently absent in the newly enlarged south pit crater. The northern rim of the eastern pit crater fell into the lava lake there just before 5 pm yesterday. The glowing spot at the base of the southeast flank of Pu`u `O`o, marking a collapse in the roof of the lava tube, decreased in brightness.
The tiltmeter on the north flank of Pu`u `O`o cone recorded continued deflation with another positive offset marking formation of the new pit crater. Seismic tremor levels near Pu`u `O`o remained low. The most recent (preliminary) sulfur dioxide emission rate measurement was 400 tonnes/day on August 27, 2012, from all east rift zone sources.
The overall vigor of flows southeast of Pu`u `O`o was even weaker than in past days when viewed through Webcams, with just a few scattered spots of flow activity on the coastal plain more than 2 km (1.2 mi) from the coast; note that the R3 Webcam was relocated to the coastal plain looking directly at the pali. There was no ocean entry.
Background: The eruption in Kilauea's middle east rift zone started with a fissure eruption on January 3, 1983, and continued with few interruptions at Pu`u `O`o Cone, or temporarily from vents within a few kilometers to the east or west,. 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. Since late December, the flows have remained intermittently active on the pali and the coastal plain but have not entered the ocean. 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, the strip of coastal plain nearest the ocean within which the lava is now advancing, and Kilauea Crater - these areas are within Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park; Park access and viewing information can be found at http://www.nps.gov/havo/planyourvisit/lava2.htm.
Past 24 hours at Kilauea summit: The summit tiltmeters recorded DI deflation bottoming at a little more than 6 microradians overnight. The lava lake level also bottomed and, instead, displayed several rise/fall events overnight. The most recent (preliminary) sulfur dioxide emission rate measurement was 700 tonnes/day on August 27, 2012; this value was a typical background level between rise/fall events. Small amounts of ash-sized tephra (spatter bits and Pele's hair) were carried out of the vent in the gas plume and deposited on nearby surfaces.
Seismic tremor levels were generally low but increasing slightly between rise/fall events; the magnitude-7.6 earthquake that occurred in the Philippines this morning roared through our seismic network just before 3 am but did not have any noticeable effect on the eruption. No earthquakes were strong enough to be located beneath Kilauea volcano although two deep quakes were located nearby on the Ka`oiki Seismic Zone between Mauna Loa and Kilauea summits.
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: At Pu`u `O`o Crater, collapses of the crater floor continued. A new pit crater formed at the northern edge of the floor, just below the POcam, after 10 am yesterday; at about 1 pm, lava started to fill the new crater which did not overflow but remained crusted most of the night into this morning. Overnight view of glow showed that a lava lake remained in the eastern pit crater but was apparently absent in the newly enlarged south pit crater. The northern rim of the eastern pit crater fell into the lava lake there just before 5 pm yesterday. The glowing spot at the base of the southeast flank of Pu`u `O`o, marking a collapse in the roof of the lava tube, decreased in brightness.
The tiltmeter on the north flank of Pu`u `O`o cone recorded continued deflation with another positive offset marking formation of the new pit crater. Seismic tremor levels near Pu`u `O`o remained low. The most recent (preliminary) sulfur dioxide emission rate measurement was 400 tonnes/day on August 27, 2012, from all east rift zone sources.
The overall vigor of flows southeast of Pu`u `O`o was even weaker than in past days when viewed through Webcams, with just a few scattered spots of flow activity on the coastal plain more than 2 km (1.2 mi) from the coast; note that the R3 Webcam was relocated to the coastal plain looking directly at the pali. There was no ocean entry.
Background: The eruption in Kilauea's middle east rift zone started with a fissure eruption on January 3, 1983, and continued with few interruptions at Pu`u `O`o Cone, or temporarily from vents within a few kilometers to the east or west,. 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. Since late December, the flows have remained intermittently active on the pali and the coastal plain but have not entered the ocean. 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, the strip of coastal plain nearest the ocean within which the lava is now advancing, and Kilauea Crater - these areas are within Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park; Park access and viewing information can be found at http://www.nps.gov/havo/planyourvisit/lava2.htm.
Update in Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) format
