Time-lapse thermal image movie of Halemaumau Overlook Vent. December 1-8, 2016. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO

Time-lapse movie of Halemaumau Overlook Vent. December 1-8, 2016. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO

Time-lapse movie of Halemaʻumaʻu Overlook Vent from Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. December 1-8, 2016. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO

Time-lapse movie of KÄ«lauea Caldera from Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. December 1-8, 2016. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO

Time-lapse movie of Halemaumau Crater looking Southwest. December 1-8, 2016. Images courtesy of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

(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. This past week, the summit lava lake level varied between about 12.5 and 32 m (41–105 ft) below the vent rim. The 61g lava flow continued to enter the ocean near Kamokuna. The breakout from the 61g vent area on the flank of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō remained active, with a small surface flow slowly advancing to the east. The 61g lava flows do not pose an immediate threat to nearby communities.

Mauna Loa is not erupting. During the past week, small (less than magnitude-3) earthquakes occurred primarily at the summit and upper Southwest Rift Zone at depths less than 5 km (3 mi) and on the volcano’s east flank at depths of 5-13 km (3-8 mi). Deformation related to inflation of a magma reservoir beneath the summit and upper Southwest Rift Zone continued.

No earthquakes were reported felt on the Island of Hawaiʻi this 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.

Volcano Watch (http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch/) is a weekly article and activity update written by U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists.