Volcano Watch: Kilauea activity update for the week of September 1, 2011

The new lava lake in Pu‘u ‘O ‘o has buried much of the floor of the August 3, 2011, collapse crater beneath a maximum of about 45 m (~148 ft) of lava. Most of the lava upwells at the east end of the lake (lower right) and flows toward the west, much like the lava lake prior to the August 3 flank breakout and crater collapse. Photo courtesy of USGS/HVO

The new lava lake in Pu‘u ‘O ‘o has buried much of the floor of the August 3, 2011, collapse crater beneath a maximum of about 45 m (~148 ft) of lava. Most of the lava upwells at the east end of the lake (lower right) and flows toward the west, much like the lava lake prior to the August 3 flank breakout and crater collapse. Photo courtesy of USGS/HVO

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

A lava lake has been present within the Halemaumau Overlook vent over the past week, resulting in night-time glow visible from Jaggar Museum. The lake remains deep within the vent cavity, with minor spattering along the lake margin.

On the east rift zone, a perched lava lake has remained active in the east portion of Pu‘u ‘O ‘o Crater over the past week, and an additional vent on the west end started erupting flows onto the crater floor on Monday, August 29. As of Thursday, September 1, lava had filled the crater to within about 25 m (82 ft) of the east rim of Pu‘u ‘O ‘o, but was still below its level prior to the August 3 flank breakout and crater collapse.

One earthquake beneath Hawai`i Island was reported felt this past week. A magnitude-2.8 earthquake occurred at 9:02 a.m., HST, on Wednesday, August 31, 2011, and was located 13 km (8 mi) east of Loihi Volcano at a depth of 45 km (28 mi).

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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