Time-lapse thermal image movie of Halemaumau Overlook Vent. December 15-22, 2016. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO

Time-lapse movie of Halemaumau Overlook Vent. December 15-22, 2016. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO

Time-lapse movie of Halemaʻumaʻu Overlook Vent from Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. December 15-22, 2016. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO

Time-lapse movie of Halemaumau Crater looking Southwest. December 15-22, 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 13 and 33 m (43–108 ft) below the vent rim. The 61g lava flow was still active and entering the ocean near Kamokuna. A younger branch of the flow is advancing slowly to the east of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. The 61g lava flows do not pose an immediate threat to nearby communities.

Mauna Loa is not erupting. During the past week only 10 earthquakes were located, all less than magnitude-1.5, primarily in the upper Southwest Rift Zone and summit area at depths less than 5 km (3 mi). Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements continued to show deformation related to inflation of a magma reservoir beneath the summit and upper Southwest Rift Zone.

Four earthquakes were reported felt on the Island of Hawaiʻi during the past week. On Dec. 19, at 10:49 a.m., HST, a magnitude-2.9 earthquake occurred 5.2 km (3.2 mi) southeast of Kīlauea’s summit at a depth of 2.9 km (1.8 mi). On Dec. 18, at 6:30 a.m., a magnitude-4.5 earthquake occurred 58.7 km (36.4 mi) south of Ka Lae (South Point) at a depth of 36.5 km (22.7 mi). On Dec. 17, at 1:42 a.m., a magnitude-3.6 earthquake occurred 12.8 km (7.9 mi) southeast of Kīlauea’s summit at a depth of 8.1 km (5.0 mi). On Dec. 16, at 8:45 p.m., a magnitude-3.8 earthquake occurred 13.2 km (8.2 mi) southeast of Kīlauea’s summit at a depth of 8.0 km (5.0 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 image movie from a research camera positioned on Holei Pali, looking east towards Lava Flow 61G and Kalapana. December 15-22, 2016. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO