Volcano Watch: Kilauea activity update for March 3, 2016
Posted on March 3, 2016. Tags: halemaumau, hvo, kilauea, lava, Pu‘u ‘O‘o, usgs, volcano, volcano watch
PuÊ»u ʻŌʻŠhas changed dramatically over the years. This map shows the configuration of PuÊ»u ʻŌʻŒs current crater (outlined in yellow) and vents (marked in red). The base image is a mosaic created from photographs captured during a helicopter overflight on January 19, 2016. The current crater, with a maximum width of about 290 m (317 yd), is nested within a much larger crater that was present in early 2011. The current crater is about 20 m (66 ft) deep and has distinct embayments at its northeast, northwest, and south sides. These embayments were pits when the current crater formed in mid-2014. A short distance west of the current crater is a 50-m- (~165-ft-) wide pit, informallly called the West pit, that contains a 25-m- (~80-ft-) wide lava pond. The source of the currently active June 27th lava flow is a vent on the northeast flank of PuÊ»u ʻŌʻÅ, about 250 m (273 yd) downslope from the crater rim. Photo courtesy of USGS/HVO
This photo looks north-northwest at the northeast embayment at PuÊ»u ʻŌʻÅ, showing the vent (a spatter cone) on the floor of the embayment. The heavy fume on the rim of the embayment is another vent. Photo taken Tuesday, February 24, 2016 courtesy of USGS/HVO
This photo, also of the northeast embayment at PuÊ»u ʻŌʻÅ, is interesting because it shows the lava tube for the KahaualeÊ»a 2 flow, active during 2013 and 2014, exposed high on the crater wall. The KahaualeÊ»a 2 flow is the lava flow that preceded the currently active June 27th lava flow, which began June 27, 2014. Photo taken Tuesday, February 24, 2016 courtesy of USGS/HVO
This photo, looking to the west, shows the two spatter cones that mark vents on the floor of the southern embayment in Puʻu ʻŌʻŠcrater. Photo taken Tuesday, February 24, 2016 courtesy of USGS/HVO
This photo looks north into the northwest embayment at PuÊ»u ʻŌʻÅ. The spatter cone on edge of the embayment (the dark object nearly surrounded by white staining) has not fed lava flows for several months, but incandescent holes on the spatter cone (not visible in this photo) show that lava still resides beneath it. The fume in the distance at upper right is from the June 27th flow lava tube. Photo taken Tuesday, February 24, 2016 courtesy of USGS/HVO
This photo looks west toward the West pit on PuÊ»u ʻŌʻÅ. Photo taken Tuesday, February 24, 2016 courtesy of USGS/HVO
The West pit, as seen in this photo looking west, contains a small lava pond that is tucked partly back under the pit’s overhanging southwest wall. The walls are, in fact, overhanging most of the pit’s circumference, making the pit wider at the bottom than at the top. Photo taken Tuesday, February 24, 2016 courtesy of USGS/HVO
Time-lapse thermal image movie of Halemaumau Overlook Vent. February 25-March 3, 2016. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO
Time-lapse movie of Halemaʻumaʻu Overlook Vent from Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. February 25-March 3, 2016. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO
Time-lapse movie of Halemaumau Crater looking Southwest. February 25-March 3, 2016. Images courtesy of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Time-lapse movie of KÄ«lauea Caldera from Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. February 25-March 3, 2016. 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 23 and 45 m (75–150 ft) below the vent rim within Halema‘uma‘u Crater. On the East Rift Zone, scattered lava flow activity remains within about 6 km (4 mi) of Puʻu ʻŌʻŠand is not currently threatening nearby communities.
Mauna Loa is not erupting. Seismicity remains elevated above long-term background levels, but the earthquake rate remained stable this past week. GPS measurements show continued deformation related to inflation of a magma reservoir beneath the summit and upper Southwest Rift Zone of Mauna Loa, with inflation recently occurring mainly in the southwestern part of the magma storage complex.
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
Time-lapse multi-image movie of MokuÊ»Äweoweo Caldera from the Northwest Rim on Mauna Loa. February 25-March 3, 2016. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO
Time-lapse multi-image movie of Pu’u ‘O’o Crater. Pu‘u ‘O‘oMarch 3, 2016. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO
Time-lapse movie of Pu’u ‘O’o Crater North Flank from the North Rim. February 25-March 3, 2016. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO
Time-lapse movie from images gathered from a temporary thermal camera looking into Pu’u ‘O’o Crater. The temperature scale is in degrees Celsius up to a maximum of 500 Celsius (932 Fahrenheit) for this camera model, and scales based on the maximum and minimum temperatures within the frame. Thick fume, image pixel size and other factors often result in image temperatures being lower than actual surface temperatures. February 25-March 3, 2016. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO
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