Categorized | Sci-Tech

Volcano Watch: Kilauea activity update for week of Oct. 28

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

Lava continues to enter the lava tube system and is carried downslope to the Puhi-o-Kalaikini lava delta, near Kalapana, where it enters the ocean and creates a steam plume. Two small and brief lava breakouts from the tube occurred near the end of Highway 130, just west of Kalapana, in the past week.

In addition, a breakout that began last week on the lower pali has remained active, sending flows west of the tube onto the coastal plain, about 1.4 km (0.9 miles) west of the County viewing area.

At Kilauea’s summit, the circulating lava lake deep in the collapse pit within the floor of Halemaumau Crater has been visible via Webcam throughout the past week. The circulation pattern was interrupted sporadically by abrupt increases in the height of the lava surface.

These periods of high lava level have been short-lived, lasting up to several hours, and each ended with a sudden drop of the lava surface back to its previous level. Volcanic gas emissions remain elevated, resulting in high concentrations of sulfur dioxide downwind.

Four earthquakes beneath Hawaii Island were felt during the past week.

The largest was a magnitude-4.1 earthquake that occurred at 3:09 p.m. Friday, Oct. 29 and was located 8 km (5 miles) north-northwest of Honokaa at a depth of 35 km (22 miles).

A magnitude-3.7 earthquake occurred at 11:51 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 30 and was located 5 km (3 miles) north-northeast of Kaena Point at a depth of 9 km (6 miles).

A magnitude-3.2 earthquake occurred at 11:44 p.m. Sunday Oct. 31 and was located 13 km (8 miles) south-southwest of Honokaa at a depth of 24 km (15 miles).

A minor earthquake was reported felt Tuesday, Nov. 2 on Oahu, but the signals were too poorly constrained to determine its magnitude or location.

Visit the HVO Web site (http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov) for detailed Kilauea and Mauna Loa activity updates, recent volcano photos, recent earthquakes, and more; call (808) 967-8862 for a Kilauea summary; email questions to askHVO@usgs.gov.

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