USGS Volcano Notice - DOI-USGS-HVO-2018-08-06T09:20:32-07:00

HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY STATUS REPORT
U.S. Geological Survey
Monday, August 6, 2018, 12:49 PM HST (Monday, August 6, 2018, 22:49 UTC)

KILAUEA VOLCANO (VNUM #332010)
19°25'16" N 155°17'13" W, Summit Elevation 4091 ft (1247 m)
Current Volcano Alert Level: WARNING
Current Aviation Color Code: ORANGE

Kīlauea Volcano Lower East Rift Zone

Activity and lava output from fissure 8 remains low. This morning's overflight crew saw a weak to moderately active bubbling lava lake within the fissure 8 cone, a weak gas plume, and a completely crusted lava channel. Later in the morning, ground crews found the upper channel largely devoid of lava confirming that the channel is empty to at least the vicinity of Kapoho Crater where a short section of spiny active lava in a channel was present. There were small active ooze outs near the coast on the Kapoho Bay and Ahalanui lobes but the laze plume was greatly diminished. Active lava is close to the Pohoiki boat ramp but has not advanced significantly toward it.

The significance of this change is not yet clear and hazardous conditions remain in the area. HVO field crews and the UAS team will monitor activity throughout the day and overnight.

It is common for eruptions to wax and wane or pause completely. A return to high levels of lava discharge or new outbreaks in the area of active fissures could occur at any time.

Residents should remain informed and heed Hawaii County Civil Defense messages and warnings.

Kīlauea Volcano Middle East Rift Zone

On Friday, gas measurements of the Puʻu ʻŌʻō plume indicated an emission rate of over 1,000 tons/day of SO2, the highest rate from this vent in several years. Readers may recall that a white plume has been observed issuing from Puʻu ʻŌʻō over the past several weeks. From this morning's overflight, observers confirmed that increased gas and steam are coming from the crater but that temperatures do not seem significantly higher than on previous visits. No active lava was observed.

Kīlauea Volcano Summit

The volcano's summit remains quiet following the most recent collapse event four days ago (11:55 a.m. HST August 2). This continues a significant departure from the pattern of seismicity and deformation over the past several months, with very low rates of seismicity continuing today. The deformation at the summit as measured by tiltmeter and GPS instruments has virtually stopped.

Summit and LERZ changes considered together imply that the rate of magma leaving the summit to feed the Lower East Rift Zone eruption has decreased. How long this condition will persist is unknown. It is possible that outflow will pick up again, resulting in renewed summit area deflation leading to another collapse event and renewed eruption vigor on the LERZ.

HVO will continue to monitor Kīlauea closely for any signs of change in activity.

The next status report will be issued tomorrow morning unless significant changes occur.


MORE INFORMATION

Subscribe to these messages: https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/vns2/

Webcam images: https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/multimedia_webcams.html

Photos/Video: https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/multimedia_chronology.html

Lava Flow Maps: https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/multimedia_maps.html

Definitions of terms used in update: https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/extra/definitions.pdf

Overview of Kīlauea summit (Halemaʻumaʻu) and East Rift Zone (Puʻu ʻŌʻō ) eruptions:
https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/extra/background.pdf

Summary of volcanic hazards from Kīlauea eruptions:
https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/extra/hazards.pdf

Recent Earthquakes in Hawai'i (map and list):
https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hvo/earthquakes/

Explanation of Volcano Alert Levels and Aviation Color Codes:
https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/activity/alertsystem/index.php
https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2006/3139/

CONTACT INFORMATION:

askHVO@usgs.gov

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory is one of five volcano observatories within the U.S. Geological Survey and is responsible for monitoring volcanoes and earthquakes in Hawai`i.