Pu‘u ‘O ‘o crater view from the rim September 8, 2011. Photo courtesy of USGS/HVO

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

Lava lake in Halemaumau's Overlook vent on September 8, 2011. Image courtesy of USGS/HVO

A lava lake has been present within the Halema`uma`u Overlook vent over the past week, resulting in night-time glow visible from the Jaggar Museum. The lake, visible by Webcam, remains deep within the vent cavity, with minor spattering along the lake margin, and has risen slightly since last week.

After a decline in activity last weekend, effusion from vents in Pu`u `O`o, on Kilauea’s east rift zone, picked up again on Monday, September 5, and began refilling Pu`u `O`o’s crater at a relatively rapid pace. As of this writing (Thursday, September 8), the accumulating lava had reached to within about 10 m (33 ft) of the east rim of Pu`u `O`o, and appeared to be within about 5 m (16 ft) of low points on the west side of Pu`u `O`o crater.

One earthquake beneath Hawai`i Island was reported felt this past week. A magnitude-2.5 earthquake occurred at 6:13 p.m., HST, on Tuesday, September 6, 2011, and was located 10 km (6 mi) west of Mauna Kea’s summit at a depth of 28 km (17 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.

Volcano Watch is a weekly article and activity update written by scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.