Volcano Watch: Kilauea activity update for December 24, 2015
Posted on December 24, 2015. Tags: halemaumau, hvo, kilauea, lava, Pu‘u ‘O‘o, usgs, volcano, volcano watch
The breakout that began as a rupture from the tube supplying the June 27th lava flow continues to advance slowly to the northeast and has reached the forest. While the front of the flow is about 3 km (1.9 miles) from PuÊ»u ʻŌʻÅ, it has a long way to go to catch up to the surface flows that have persisted for the last several weeks about 3 km (1.9 miles) farther to the northeast. Photo taken Thursday, December 17, 2015 courtesy of USGS/HVO
A new vent opened on the northeast flank of PuÊ»u ʻŌʻŠduring the first week of December. This is the incandescent, fuming trio of holes just below and to the left of center in the accompanying image. While this spot happens to coincide with the trend of a tube that was last active in early 2014, aerial views into the opening suggest lava is welling up from below and not “flowing” like lava in a tube (there is no apparent lava reappearing downslope). Thus, our current interpretation is that this is a new vent that happened to open into the area of this abandoned tube as lava worked its way to the surface. Our interpretation may change, however, as our view into the vent improves, assuming that the opening continues to widen. Photo taken Thursday, December 17, 2015 courtesy of USGS/HVO
This is a view of the new vent from the ground, showing the thin roof that caps the brightly incandescent cavity below. Views from the air show the cavity to be much larger than the current opening, probably extending at least as far as the sulfur staining in the foreground and back under the mound to the right. Photo taken Thursday, December 17, 2015 courtesy of USGS/HVO
A bubbling lava surface could be seen about 5 m (16 ft) below the opening of the new vent when viewed from the air. The size of the opening will likely grow with time, as the narrow septa between the individual holes collapse. Photo taken Thursday, December 17, 2015 courtesy of USGS/HVO
Time-lapse thermal image movie of Halemaumau Overlook Vent. December 17-24, 2015. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO
Time-lapse movie of Halemaumau Overlook Vent. December 17-24, 2015. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO
Time-lapse movie of Halemaʻumaʻu Overlook Vent from Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. December 17-24, 2015. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO
Time-lapse movie of Halemaumau Crater looking Southwest. December 17-24, 2015. Images courtesy of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Time-lapse movie of KÄ«lauea Caldera from Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. December 17-24, 2015. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO
(Activity updates are written by scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.)
KÄ«lauea continues to erupt at its summit and East Rift Zone. During the past week, the summit lava lake level varied between about 38 and 74.5 m (125–244 ft) below the vent rim within Halema‘uma‘u Crater. On the East Rift Zone, scattered lava flow activity remained within about 6 km (4 mi) of PuÊ»u ʻŌʻÅ.
Mauna Loa is not erupting. Seismicity remains elevated above long term background levels. In the last week, earthquakes occurred mostly beneath Mauna Loa’s upper Southwest Rift Zone at depths less than 5 km (3 mi). GPS measurements continue to show deformation related to inflation of reservoirs beneath the summit and upper Southwest Rift Zone of Mauna Loa.
One earthquake was reported felt on the Island of Hawai‘i during the past week. On Saturday, December 19, 2015, at 1:59 a.m., HST, a magnitude-3.7 earthquake occurred 4.8 km (3.0 mi) southwest of Volcano at a depth of 2.9 km (1.8 mi).
Please visit the HVO website (http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov) for past Volcano Watch articles, KÄ«lauea daily eruption updates, Mauna Loa weekly updates, volcano photos, recent earthquakes info, and more; call for summary updates at 808-967-8862 (KÄ«lauea) or 808-967-8866 (Mauna Loa); email questions to askHVO@usgs.gov
Time-lapse movie of Pu’u ‘O’o Crater North Flank from the North Rim. December 17-24, 2015. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO
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