A photo of a pāhoehoe breakout approximately 0.4 km (0.25 mile) from the episode 61g vent. As the flow inflated, internal pressure cracked the rigid crust of the flow allowing molten lava to ooze out. Photo taken Friday, April 13, 2018 courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey

An HVO geologist photographs an active pāhoehoe breakout after taking a lava sample nearby. Photo taken Friday, April 13, 2018 courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey

This thermal image shows the perched lava pond (bright yellow) in the west pit within the crater of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. A recent overflow (orange) from the pond is filling a portion of the moat between the perched pond and the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater wall. Photo taken Friday, April 13, 2018 courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey

Lava within the west pit at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō has continued to rise since HVO’s previous overflight (March 27) and has formed a perched lava pond (center) contained within a levee. This levee, formed by an accumulation of hardened lava, confines molten lava to the perched pond, which allows the lava surface to rise higher than the west pit floor. If the pond rises high enough, lava can spill over the levee, forming small flows around the margin of the perched pond. Photo taken Friday, April 13, 2018 courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey

At the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, the gas plume produced by the Halema‘uma‘u lava lake was blown to the southwest by normal trade wind conditions today. The lake level has been relatively high over the past several weeks and intermittently visible from the Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park Jaggar Museum Overlook. The museum and HVO are perched on the caldera rim (middle right), with the slopes of Mauna Loa visible in the background. Photo taken Friday, April 13, 2018 courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey

Summit deflation began this morning, and the lake level has dropped slightly. This morning the lake was about 14 m (46 ft) below the Overlook crater rim, having dropped roughly 4 m (13 ft) since yesterday morning. In this photo, an HVO geologist checks on a time-lapse camera on the rim of Halema‘uma‘u Crater. A large spatter site is active along the east margin of the lake. Photo taken Tuesday, April 17, 2018 courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey

Over the past few days, KÄ«lauea Volcano’s summit lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u has steadily risen as summit inflation continues. Today, Sunday, April 15, the lake surface was just 14 m (46 ft) below the Overlook crater rim. Spattering has also been active, with this photo showing a large spattering site in the southeast portion of the lake. These high lake levels have provided good views from the public viewing area at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park’s Jaggar Museum. Photo taken Sunday, April 15, 2018 courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey

Over the past month, HVO monitoring instruments have recorded a sharp inflationary trend at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō (see https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/monitoring_deformation.html, scroll to bottom of page). Accompanying this inflation, the floor of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater has been uplifted, with lava intermittently spilling onto the crater floor. Brighter colors in these thermal images indicate the recent lava flows. This animated GIF shows the uplift between April 9 and April 13 (click on image to see the animation), with the floor being uplifted several meters (yards). Similar episodes of inflation and crater floor uplift in June 2014 and May 2016 resulted in lava erupting from new vents on Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. The current activity is similar to these previous patterns, indicating an increased likelihood—but not a guarantee—of possible vent changes at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. Photo taken Monday, April 16, 2018 courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey

An HVO geologist observes the perched lava pond within the west pit of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. Photo taken Wednesday, April 18, 2018 courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey

A brief break in the rain allowed for some clear views of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō on KÄ«lauea Volcano’s East Rift Zone. Since mid-March, Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō tiltmeters have been recording inflation, and uplift of the crater floor is visible in HVO webcams. The lava pond within the west pit (foreground) has also risen several meters (yards) and has overflowed onto the floor of the west pit numerous times. Photo taken Wednesday, April 18, 2018 courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey

Surface flows on the 61g flow field remain active. Most breakouts are within 2 km (1.2 miles) of the 61g vent on the flank of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō, but a few small surface flows are active on the upper flow field (above the pali) roughly 6 km (3.7 miles) from the vent. Photo taken Wednesday, April 18, 2018 courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey

Time-lapse thermal image movie of Halemaumau Overlook Vent. April 12-19, 2018. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO

Time-lapse movie of Halemaumau Overlook Vent. April 12-19, 2018. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO

Time-lapse movie of Halemaʻumaʻu Overlook Vent from Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. April 12-19, 2018. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO

Time-lapse movie of KÄ«lauea Caldera from Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. April 12-19, 2018. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO

(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 10–31 m (33–102 ft) below the vent rim. On the East Rift Zone, the 61g lava flow remained active with breakouts on the upper part of the flow field. There were no active lava flows on the pali, coastal plain, or entering the ocean. The 61g flows do not pose an immediate threat to nearby communities.

Mauna Loa is not erupting. Rates of deformation and seismicity have not changed significantly over the past week. A dozen small-magnitude earthquakes occurred beneath the summit and upper flanks of the volcano, primarily at depths shallower than 5 km (3 mi). GPS and InSAR measurements indicate slowing deformation related to inflation of a magma reservoir beneath the summit and upper Southwest Rift Zone.

One earthquake with three or more felt reports occurred on the Island of Hawaiʻi this past week: a magnitude-2.7 earthquake 5 km (3 mi) southwest of Volcano at 1.0 km (0.6 mi) depth on April 15, at 7:01 a.m. HST.

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. April 12-19, 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. April 12-19, 2018. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO