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Volcano Watch: Kilauea activity update for October 25, 2012

The lava remains at a high level, with high stands reaching 33 m (110 feet) below the floor of Halemaumau crater. Photo courtesy of USGS/HVO

The lava remains at a high level, with high stands reaching 33 m (110 feet) below the floor of Halemaumau crater. Photo courtesy of USGS/HVO

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Time-lapse movie of Halemaumau Overlook vent thermal imaging.

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Time-lapse movie of Halemaumau Overlook vent.

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

Vigorous spattering was present this evening along the western margin of the summit lava lake. Occasional bursts, like the one shown here, appeared to send tiny bits of spatter up to the level of the floor of Halemaumau crater. Photo courtesy of USGS/HVO

Vigorous spattering was present this evening along the western margin of the summit lava lake. Occasional bursts, like the one shown here, appeared to send tiny bits of spatter up to the level of the floor of Halemaumau crater. Photo courtesy of USGS/HVO

A lava lake within the Halema`uma`u Overlook vent produced night-time glow that was visible from the Jaggar Museum overlook and by HVO’s Webcam during the past week. The lava lake has been gradually rising over the past three weeks and reached a new high level on Thursday, October 25, at about 27 m (90 ft) below the floor of Halema`uma`u Crater. Cracking and booming noises, caused by thermal fracturing of the vent wall, continued to emanate sporadically from the vent.

On Kilauea’s east rift zone, surface lava flows are still active on the coastal plain within the abandoned Royal Gardens subdivision. The flows this week have been about 1.4 km (0.9 miles) from the shoreline. Within the Pu`u `O`o crater, the northeastern pit still holds a circulating lava lake, which has overflowed several times this past week. Occasional flows were also erupted from two other vents on the crater floor.

There was one earthquake reported felt across the Island of Hawai`i in the past week. On October 19, at 7:23 local time, a magnitude 2.7 earthquake occurred 5 km (3 mi) WNW of Volcano at a depth of 1.6 km (1 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.

Incandescent lines mark the boundaries between migrating crustal plates on the surface of the lava lake in Halemaumau crater. Here, and at other lava lakes across the world, these rifting zones have a characteristic zigzag pattern. Photo courtesy of USGS/HVO

Incandescent lines mark the boundaries between migrating crustal plates on the surface of the lava lake in Halemaumau crater. Here, and at other lava lakes across the world, these rifting zones have a characteristic zigzag pattern. Photo courtesy of USGS/HVO

Sunset, with the vigorous spattering source on the west margin of the lake visible. Photo courtesy of USGS/HVO

Sunset, with the vigorous spattering source on the west margin of the lake visible. Photo courtesy of USGS/HVO

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Time-lapse HD movie of Pu‘u ‘O‘o crater.

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Time-lapse HD movie of the Peace Day flow.

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