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Volcano Watch: Kilauea activity update for December 31, 2015


Time-lapse thermal image movie of Halemaumau Overlook Vent. December 24-31, 2015. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO


Time-lapse movie of Halemaumau Overlook Vent. December 24-31, 2015. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO


Time-lapse movie of Halemaʻumaʻu Overlook Vent from Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. December 24-31, 2015. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO


Time-lapse movie of Halemaumau Crater looking Southwest. December 24-31, 2015. Images courtesy of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park


Time-lapse movie of KÄ«lauea Caldera from Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. December 24-31, 2015. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO

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

Kīlauea continues to erupt at its summit and East Rift Zone. During the past week, the summit lava lake level varied between about 35 and 64 m (115–210 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 Puʻu ʻŌʻō.

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 magma reservoirs beneath the summit and upper Southwest Rift Zone of Mauna Loa.

No earthquakes were reported felt on the Island of Hawai‘i during the past week.

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

Deformation Stations

Deformation Stations


This graph shows the radial tilt at Uwekahuna (UWE), on the northwest rim of KÄ«lauea’s caldera, and PuÊ»u ʻŌʻō (POC), on the north flank of PuÊ»u ʻŌʻō cone, as recorded by continuously operating electronic tiltmeters. Positive changes often indicate inflation of the magma storage areas beneath the caldera, but may also result from heavy rainfall or, occasionally, instrumental malfunctions. The Y-axis is in microradians, an angular measure in parts per million; for example, one microradian represents the tilt of a 1-km-long bar, one end of which is lifted up or down 1 mm.

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