Volcano Watch: Kilauea activity update for June 28, 2018


Time-lapse movie of Kilauea’s Lower East Rift Zone in Puna. This image is from a temporary research camera positioned near Kapoho looking southwest. One can see the eruptive Fissure 8 near the center. June 22-28, 2018. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO


Time-lapse movie of A panorama of Halemaʻumaʻu Overlook Vent Wide Angle from HVO Observation Tower. June 22-28, 2018. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO


Time-lapse movie of KÄ«lauea Caldera from Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. June 22-28, 2018. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO


Time-lapse movie of Halemaʻumaʻu Overlook Vent from Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. June 22-28, 2018. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO

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

On Kīlauea Volcano’s lower East Rift Zone, lava from the fissure 8 spatter cone continues to flow in an established channel to the Kapoho coastline. Minor overflows from the channel occur periodically, but are short-lived and do not extend beyond the current flow field. At the coast, the northern margin of the flow field is oozing lava at several points in the area of Kapoho Beach Lots. The lava channel has crusted over about 0.8 km (0.5 mi) inland of the ocean entry. Lava enters the sea over a broad area on the northern side of the entry area. Residents in the lower Puna District of Hawaiʻi Island should remain informed and heed Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense closures, warnings, and messages (http://www.hawaiicounty.gov/active-alerts). At Kīlauea’s summit, on June 28 at 4:49 a.m. HST, after approximately 26 hours of elevated seismicity, a collapse explosion occurred at the summit producing an ash-poor steam plume that rose about 1,000 ft above the ground surface. The energy released by the event was equivalent to a magnitude 5.3 earthquake. Inward slumping of the rim and walls of Halemaʻumaʻu continues in response to ongoing subsidence at the summit.

At Mauna Loa, HVO seismic and deformation monitoring networks have been recording near background levels of seismicity and ground motion for at least the last six months. These observations indicate that the volcano is no longer at an elevated level of activity. Accordingly, HVO has dropped the Mauna Loa alert level to NORMAL and the aviation color code to GREEN. HVO continues to monitor the volcano closely and will report any significant changes.

Visit the HVO website (http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov) for past Volcano Watch articles, KÄ«lauea daily eruption updates and other volcano status reports, current volcano photos, recent earthquakes, and more; email questions to askHVO@usgs.gov.

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