Categorized | Featured, Sci-Tech, Videos, Volcano

Volcano Watch: Kilauea activity update for August 9, 2012

[jwplayer config=”480×360-4:3″ mediaid=”72097″]
Time-lapse thermal image movie of Halemaumau Overlook vent

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

A lava lake within the Halema`uma`u Overlook vent resulted in night-time glow that was visible from the Jaggar Museum overlook and by HVO’s Webcam during the past week. The lake level fluctuated slowly between about 60 to 80 m (200-260 ft) below the floor of Halema`uma`u Crater, matching cycles of summit inflation and deflation. There were also several rise-fall cycles, during which the level fluctuated more rapidly.

On Kilauea’s east rift zone, surface lava flows on the coastal plain and pali have been relatively weak over the past week. As of Wednesday, August 8, the active flow front was more than 2 km (1.2 miles) from the ocean. There was no active ocean entry. Incandescence was visible from three degassing vents within Pu`u `O`o, including the pit on the northeastern side of the crater floor that has held a small lava pond. The lava pond was too low to be directly visible via webcam.

One earthquake was reported felt on the Island of Hawai`i during the past week. On August 4th at 3:20 p.m., HST, a magnitude-3.1 earthquake occurred to 14 km (9 mi) to the WSW of Waiki`i at a depth of 17 km (11 mi).

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

[jwplayer config=”550×310-16:9″ mediaid=”72096″]
Time-lapse movie of the coastal plain and pali webcams

Map showing the extent of lava flows erupted during Kīlauea’s ongoing east rift zone eruption and labeled with the years in which they were active. Episodes 1-48b (1983-1986) are shown in gray; episodes 48c-49 (1986-1992) are pale yellow; episodes 50-53 and 55 (1992-2007) are tan; episode 54 (1997) is yellow; episode 58 (2007-2011) is pale orange; the episode 59 Kamoamoa eruption (March 2011) is at left in light reddish orange; and the episode 60 Puʻu ʻŌʻō overflows and flank breakout (Mar-August 2011) are orange. The currently active Peace Day flow (episode 61) is shown as the two shades of red-light red is the extent of the flow from September 21, 2011, to June 29, 2012, and bright red marks the meager flow expansion from June 29 to August 8. The active lava tube is delineated by the yellow line within the active flow field. The contour interval on Puʻu ʻŌʻō is 5 m.

Map showing the extent of lava flows erupted during Kīlauea’s ongoing east rift zone eruption and labeled with the years in which they were active. Episodes 1-48b (1983-1986) are shown in gray; episodes 48c-49 (1986-1992) are pale yellow; episodes 50-53 and 55 (1992-2007) are tan; episode 54 (1997) is yellow; episode 58 (2007-2011) is pale orange; the episode 59 Kamoamoa eruption (March 2011) is at left in light reddish orange; and the episode 60 Puʻu ʻŌʻō overflows and flank breakout (Mar-August 2011) are orange. The currently active Peace Day flow (episode 61) is shown as the two shades of red-light red is the extent of the flow from September 21, 2011, to June 29, 2012, and bright red marks the meager flow expansion from June 29 to August 8. The active lava tube is delineated by the yellow line within the active flow field. The contour interval on Puʻu ʻŌʻō is 5 m.

Leave a Reply

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

 

Quantcast