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Volcano Watch: Kilauea activity update for February 8, 2018


Time-lapse thermal image movie of Halemaumau Overlook Vent. February 1-8, 2018. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO


Time-lapse movie of Halemaumau Overlook Vent. February 1-8, 2018. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO


Time-lapse movie of Halemaʻumaʻu Overlook Vent from Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. February 1-8, 2018. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO


Time-lapse movie of KÄ«lauea Caldera from Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. February 1-8, 2018. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO


Time-lapse movie of Halemaumau Crater looking Southwest. February 1-8, 2018. Images courtesy of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

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

This past week, KÄ«lauea Volcano’s summit lava lake level fluctuated with summit inflation and deflation, ranging about 29–37 m (95–121 ft) below the vent rim. On the East Rift Zone, the 61g lava flow remained active downslope of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō, with scattered breakouts on the pali and coastal plain, but no ocean entry. The 61g flows do not pose an immediate threat to nearby communities.

Mauna Loa Volcano is not erupting. Rates of deformation and seismicity remain above long-term background levels. Small-magnitude earthquakes occurred beneath the summit caldera and upper Southwest Rift Zone at depths less than 5 km (3 mi). A few deeper earthquakes were scattered beneath the volcano’s flanks at depths less than 13 km (8 mi). GPS and InSAR measurements continue to show slow deformation related to inflation of a magma reservoir beneath the summit and upper Southwest Rift Zone, but rates in the past few months have decreased compared to rates of the past year. No significant changes in volcanic gas emissions were measured.

No earthquakes were reported felt in Hawaii this past week.


Time-lapse movie of Pu’u ‘O’o Crater. February 1-8, 2018. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO


Time-lapse movie from a camera positioned on the southeast flank of Puʻu ʻŌʻō, looking toward the active flow advancing to the southeast. The breakout point is at the left edge of the image, and the mid-field skyline at the right is roughly coincident with the top of the pali. February 1-8, 2018. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO


Time-lapse image movie from a research camera positioned on Holei Pali, looking east towards Lava Flow 61G and Kalapana. February 1-8, 2018. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO

This map shows recent changes to Kīlauea's East Rift Zone lava flow field. The area of the active flow field as of January 05, 2018 is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the active flow as of January 30, 2018 is shown in red. Older Puʻu ʻŌʻō lava flows (1983–2016) are shown in gray. The yellow line is the trace of the active lava tubes; based on the lack of activity in the lower reaches of the flow field, a portion of the main lava tube leading to the ocean may contain little or no moving lava, but it is still quite hot to the thermal camera. The Kamokuna ocean entry is inactive. The blue lines over the Puʻu ʻŌʻō flow field are steepest-descent paths calculated from a 2013 digital elevation model (DEM), while the blue lines on the rest of the map are steepest-descent paths calculated from a 1983 DEM (for calculation details, see http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1264/). Steepest-descent path analysis is based on the assumption that the DEM perfectly represents the earth's surface. DEMs, however, are not perfect, so the blue lines on this map can be used to infer only approximate flow paths. The base map is a partly transparent 1:24,000-scale USGS digital topographic map draped over the 1983 10-m digital elevation model (DEM). (see large map) (see large map)

This map shows recent changes to KÄ«lauea’s East Rift Zone lava flow field. The area of the active flow field as of January 05, 2018 is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the active flow as of January 30, 2018 is shown in red. Older PuÊ»u ʻŌʻō lava flows (1983–2016) are shown in gray. The yellow line is the trace of the active lava tubes; based on the lack of activity in the lower reaches of the flow field, a portion of the main lava tube leading to the ocean may contain little or no moving lava, but it is still quite hot to the thermal camera. The Kamokuna ocean entry is inactive. The blue lines over the PuÊ»u ʻŌʻō flow field are steepest-descent paths calculated from a 2013 digital elevation model (DEM), while the blue lines on the rest of the map are steepest-descent paths calculated from a 1983 DEM (for calculation details, see http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1264/). Steepest-descent path analysis is based on the assumption that the DEM perfectly represents the earth’s surface. DEMs, however, are not perfect, so the blue lines on this map can be used to infer only approximate flow paths. The base map is a partly transparent 1:24,000-scale USGS digital topographic map draped over the 1983 10-m digital elevation model (DEM). (see large map) (see large map)

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