Time-lapse movie of Halemaʻumaʻu Overlook Vent from Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. August 10-17, 2017. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO

Time-lapse movie of Halemaumau Overlook Vent. August 10-17, 2017. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO

Time-lapse thermal image movie of Halemaumau Overlook Vent. August 10-17, 2017. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO

Time-lapse movie of KÄ«lauea Caldera from Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. August 10-17, 2017. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO

Time-lapse movie of Halemaumau Crater looking Southwest. August 10-17, 2017. Images courtesy of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

The flow front of the June 26 breakout (pictured above) has stalled. On the coastal plain today, the closest active breakouts found by HVO geologists were 2.1 km (1.3 miles) upslope from the emergency route. There were a few areas of active pāhoehoe breakouts which varied from sluggish ropey textures to thin and fluid flows. Photo taken Tuesday, August 15, 2017 courtesy of USGS/HVO

Cracks on the Kamokuna lava delta continue to develop. These photos from July 31 (left) and today, August 15 (right), highlight changes on the delta during the past two weeks. The yellow numbers mark a few prominent features on the delta (1 & 3) and older sea cliff (2 & 4). A new crack (1) formed over the two weeks and appears to span most of the delta, and a crack closer to the cliff (3) has widened and extended to the west. Time-lapse images during the past two weeks showed slight widening of the large crack and subtle subsidence of the delta. Continued development of these and other cracks underline the hazardous nature of an ocean entry, and why it is important to take heed of all warning signs and area closures. Photo taken Tuesday, August 15, 2017 courtesy of USGS/HVO

(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 level varied 28–44 m (92-144 ft) below the vent rim, with fluctuations in concert with summit inflation and deflation. On the East Rift Zone, the 61g flow remained active, with lava entering the ocean near Kamokuna and surface breakouts downslope of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. The 61g flows do not pose an immediate threat to nearby communities.

Mauna Loa is not erupting. During the past week, small-magnitude earthquakes continued to occur beneath the volcano, primarily in the 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 3 or more felt reports in the Hawaiian islands occurred during the past week. On August 16, at 05:24 a.m. HST, a magnitude-3.1 earthquake located 10 km (6.2 mi) ENE of Honoka’a and 15 km (9 mi) deep.
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.