An FTIR instrument is set up on the rim of Halemaʻumaʻu Crater to measure volcanic gases from the summit lava lake. The open-path Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer continuously measures the gases in a volcanic plume, measuring the relative abundance of each. Most of the gas emitted during a volcanic eruption is water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), and sulfur dioxide(SO2). Photo taken Sunday, February 12, 2017 courtesy of USGS/HVO
HVO’s geochemist uses a Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR) instrument to track volcanic gases emitted from the lava lake with HalemaÊ»umaÊ»u Crater. These measurements help detect changes in gas composition, which can provide insight into the inner workings of KÄ«lauea Volcano. Photo taken Sunday, February 12, 2017 courtesy of USGS/HVO
View of the lava lake within Halemaʻumaʻu Crater from the FTIR spectrometer monitoring location. At Hawaiian volcanoes, magma ascends from the mantle more than 60 km (about 40 mi) below the surface, to a reservoir less than 2 km (about 1.2 mi) deep. As the pressure decreases, the gases dissolved in the magma bubble out and escape. Magma continues to rise through a shallow conduit to the Halemaʻumaʻu lava lake, where it continues to degas (the blue haze is indicative of sulfur gases). Photo taken Sunday, February 12, 2017 courtesy of USGS/HVO
Tuesday (Feb 14), KÄ«lauea Volcano’s summit lava lake level was 21 m (69 ft) below the vent rim. A long stretch of active spattering was visible along the east lake margin from the rim of HalemaÊ»umaÊ»u Crater, an area that remains closed to the public due to ongoing hazards. The usual spatter source to the southeast was small by comparison. In the afternoon light, the dark lava flows on either side of the vent rim were quite visible. These flows spilled onto the floor of HalemaÊ»umaÊ»u Crater in April-May 2015, and again in October 2016, when the lava lake level briefly rose above the vent rim several times. Photo taken Tuesday, February 14, 2017 courtesy of USGS/HVO
A telephoto view of the east lake margin showed that the spattering was focused in small embayments created by promontories of cooled, congealed lava jutting from the vent wall. Photo taken Tuesday, February 14, 2017 courtesy of USGS/HVO
At times, spattering along the east lake margin reached heights of 6–9 m (20–30 ft), as shown in this telephoto image. Photo taken Tuesday, February 14, 2017 courtesy of USGS/HVO
The 61g flow breakout that started on February 10 on Pulama Pali was still active Tuesday (Feb 14). The flow front (shown here) is approximately 2.3 km (1.4 mi) from the base of the pali and 1.2 km (0.75 mi) from the ocean. The flow front is on the eastern side of the 61g flow field, and is outside the National Park boundary. Photo taken Tuesday, February 14, 2017 courtesy of USGS/HVO
Time-lapse movie of Halemaumau Overlook Vent. February 9-16, 2017. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO
Time-lapse thermal image movie of Halemaumau Overlook Vent. February 9-16, 2017. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO
Time-lapse movie of Halemaʻumaʻu Overlook Vent from Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. February 9-16, 2017. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO
Time-lapse movie of KÄ«lauea Caldera from Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. February 9-16, 2017. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO
Time-lapse movie of Halemaumau Crater looking Southwest. February 9-16, 2017. 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 20 and 38 m (66–125 ft) below the vent rim. The 61g flow was still active, with lava entering the ocean near Kamokuna and surface breakouts roughly 5 km (3 mi) from the vent on Pu‘u ‘Ō‘Šand on the coastal plain about 1 km (0.6 mi) inland of the ocean entry, as of Feb. 16. The 61g flows do not pose an immediate threat to nearby communities.
Mauna Loa is not erupting. Rates of deformation and seismicity have not changed significantly in the past week and continue to be above long-term background levels. Only a few small-magnitude earthquakes occurred beneath the volcano, primarily in the upper Southwest Rift and Moku’Äweoweo caldera at depths less than 5 km (3 miles). A few earthquakes also occurred on the west flank of the volcano at depths mostly above 5 km (3 miles). Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements continue to show deformation related to inflation of a magma reservoir beneath the summit and upper Southwest Rift Zone. No significant change in summit fumarole temperature was noted over the past week.
One earthquake was reported felt on the Island of Hawaiʻi this past week. On February 13, 2017, at 10:02 p.m., HST, a magnitude-2.5 earthquake occurred 10.0 km (6.2 mi) southwest of Honoka‘a at a depth of 13 km (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. February 9-16, 2017. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO
Time-lapse image movie from a research camera positioned on Holei Pali, looking east towards Lava Flow 61G and Kalapana. February 9-16, 2017. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO
This map shows recent changes to KÄ«lauea’s East Rift Zone lava flow field. The area of the active flow field as of January 12 is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the active flow as of February 16 is shown in red. Older PuÊ»u ʻŌʻŠlava flows (1983–2016) are shown in gray. The yellow line marks the trace of the active lava tube (dashed where uncertain).
The blue lines over the PuÊ»u ʻŌʻŠflow field are steepest-descent paths calculated from a 2013 digital elevation model (DEM), while the blue lines on the rest of the map are steepest-descent paths calculated from a 1983 DEM (for calculation details, see http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1264/). Steepest-descent path analysis is based on the assumption that the DEM perfectly represents the earth’s surface. DEMs, however, are not perfect, so the blue lines on this map can be used to infer only approximate flow paths. The base map is a partly transparent 1:24,000-scale USGS digital topographic map draped over the 1983 10-m digital elevation model (DEM).
This small-scale map shows KÄ«lauea’s active East Rift Zone lava flow field in relation to the southeastern part of the Island of HawaiÊ»i. The area of the active flow field as of January 12 is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the active flow as of February 16 is shown in red. Older PuÊ»u ʻŌʻŠlava flows (1983–2016) are shown in gray.
The blue lines over the PuÊ»u ʻŌʻŠflow field are steepest-descent paths calculated from a 2013 digital elevation model (DEM), while the blue lines on the rest of the map are steepest-descent paths calculated from a 1983 DEM (for calculation details, see http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1264/). Steepest-descent path analysis is based on the assumption that the DEM perfectly represents the earth’s surface. DEMs, however, are not perfect, so the blue lines on this map can be used to infer only approximate flow paths. The base map is a partly transparent 1:24,000-scale USGS digital topographic map draped over the 1983 10-m digital elevation model (DEM).
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