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Volcano Watch: Kilauea activity update for December 13, 2012

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Time-lapse movie of Halemaumau overlook vent

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Time-lapse thermal imaging movie of Halemaumau overlook vent

(Activity updates are written by scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.)

A lava lake within the Halema`uma`u Overlook vent produced night-time glow that was visible from the Jaggar Museum overlook and via HVO’s Webcam during the past week. The lava level was relatively steady over the past week, experiencing only small fluctuations.

On Kiauea’s east rift zone, surface lava flows are still active on the coastal plain and entering the ocean near Kupapa`u. The ocean entry and the majority of active flows are east of the eastern boundary of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, though a small area of flows was active within the park boundary. Within the Pu`u `O`o crater, the northeastern pit still holds a small lava lake, and glow emanates from other points on the northwestern and southeastern parts of the crater floor. Over the past week several small lava flows were erupted onto the crater floor.

Two earthquakes were reported felt in the past week. On December 7, 2012, at 3:55 p.m., HST, a magnitude-3.3 earthquake occurred 9 km (5 mi) west of Kailua-Kona at a depth of 13 km (9 mi). On December 12 at 8:17 p.m., a magnitude-2.7 earthquake occurred 73 km (45 mi) southwest of Makena, Maui, at a depth of 4.9 km (3 mi).

January is “Volcano Awareness Month” on Hawai`i Island, and the public is invited to attend the informative programs about Hawaiian volcanoes that will be presented around the island throughout the month. Visit the HVO Web site (http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov) for Volcano Awareness Month details and Kilauea, Mauna Loa, and Hualalai activity updates, recent volcano photos, recent earthquakes, and more; call (808) 967-8862 for a Kilauea summary; email questions to askHVO@usgs.gov.

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Time-lapse movie of the Peace Day Flow area

Map showing the extent of lava flows erupted during Kīlauea’s ongoing east rift zone eruption and labeled with the years in which they were active. Episodes 1–48b (1983–1986) are shown in gray; episodes 48c–49 (1986–1992) are pale yellow; episodes 50–53 and 55 (1992–2007) are tan; episode 54 (1997) is yellow; episode 58 (2007–2011) is pale orange; the episode 59 Kamoamoa eruption (March 2011) is at left in light reddish orange; and the episode 60 Puʻu ʻŌʻō overflows and flank breakout (Mar–August 2011) are orange. The currently active Peace Day flow (episode 61) is shown as the two shades of red—light red is the extent of the flow from September 21, 2011, to November 30, 2012, and bright red marks the mapped flow expansion from November 30 to December 14. There may have been minor flow margin changes upslope, in and above the upper part of Royal Gardens, which have not been mapped and are not shown on this map. The active lava tube is delineated by the yellow line within the active flow field. Incipient tubes extend onto the coastal plain to feed the currently active flows, but these have not been mapped. The contour interval for topographic lines shown on Puʻu ʻŌʻō is 5 m.

Map showing the extent of lava flows erupted during Kīlauea’s ongoing east rift zone eruption and labeled with the years in which they were active. Episodes 1–48b (1983–1986) are shown in gray; episodes 48c–49 (1986–1992) are pale yellow; episodes 50–53 and 55 (1992–2007) are tan; episode 54 (1997) is yellow; episode 58 (2007–2011) is pale orange; the episode 59 Kamoamoa eruption (March 2011) is at left in light reddish orange; and the episode 60 Puʻu ʻŌʻō overflows and flank breakout (Mar–August 2011) are orange. The currently active Peace Day flow (episode 61) is shown as the two shades of red—light red is the extent of the flow from September 21, 2011, to November 30, 2012, and bright red marks the mapped flow expansion from November 30 to December 14. There may have been minor flow margin changes upslope, in and above the upper part of Royal Gardens, which have not been mapped and are not shown on this map. The active lava tube is delineated by the yellow line within the active flow field. Incipient tubes extend onto the coastal plain to feed the currently active flows, but these have not been mapped. The contour interval for topographic lines shown on Puʻu ʻŌʻō is 5 m.

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