Volcano Watch: Kilauea activity update for July 13, 2017


This video clip (at x30 speed) shows the pāhoehoe breakouts on the coastal plain. Video taken Thursday, July 13, 2017 courtesy of USGS/HVO


This video clip gives a view of the ocean entry and the cracks on the lava delta. Video taken Monday, July 10, 2017 courtesy of USGS/HVO


Time-lapse movie of Halemaʻumaʻu Overlook Vent from Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. July 13, 2017. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO


Time-lapse movie of Halemaumau Overlook Vent. July 6-13, 2017. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO


Time-lapse thermal image movie of Halemaumau Overlook Vent. July 6-13, 2017. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO


Time-lapse movie of KÄ«lauea Caldera from Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. July 6-13, 2017. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO


Time-lapse movie of Halemaumau Crater looking Southwest. July 6-13, 2017. Images courtesy of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

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

This past week, Kīlauea Volcano’s summit lava lake fluctuated in concert with summit inflation and deflation, with levels ranging 26–43 m (85–141 ft) below the vent rim. On the East Rift Zone, the 61g flow remained active, with lava entering the ocean near Kamokuna and surface flows downslope of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō and on the coastal plain. The 61g flows do not pose an immediate threat to nearby communities.

Mauna Loa is not erupting. During the past week, small-magnitude earthquakes occurred beneath the volcano, primarily in the south caldera and upper Southwest Rift Zone, at depths less than 5 km (3 mi). GPS measurements continue to show deformation related to inflation of a magma reservoir beneath the summit and upper Southwest Rift Zone. No significant changes in volcanic gas emissions were measured.

One earthquake with three or more felt reports was recorded on the Island of Hawaiʻi this past week. On July 9, 2017, at 5:01 a.m. HST, a magnitude-2.5 earthquake occurred 2 km (1 mi) southwest of Kahalu‘u at a depth of 13 km (8 mi).

Please visit the HVO website (https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hvo) 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. July 6-13, 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. July 6-13, 2017. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO

This map shows recent changes to Kīlauea's East Rift Zone lava flow field. The area of the active flow field as of June 21 is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the active flow as of July 10 is shown in red. Older Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō lava flows (1983–2016) are shown in gray. The yellow line is the trace of the active lava tube.  The blue lines over the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō flow 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 map shows recent changes to KÄ«lauea’s East Rift Zone lava flow field. The area of the active flow field as of June 21 is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the active flow as of July 10 is shown in red. Older Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō lava flows (1983–2016) are shown in gray. The yellow line is the trace of the active lava tube.
The blue lines over the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō flow 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).

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

 

Quantcast