ABOVE: An HVO geologist collects a sample of active lava for chemical analysis. The lava is quenched with water in the metal bucket. (courtesy USGS)

NEWS BRIEFS

• There is no lava flow threat to nearby communities.
• Video footage taken over the June 27th lava flow shows “the robust outbreaks to the east have now completely stopped,” according to videographer Mick Kalber. His report is below.
• The deflationary tilt at Kilauea’s summit continues. The lava lake level has dropped to 164 feet below the Overlook crater rim this morning.
• A swarm of approximately 20 small earthquakes occurred on Mauna Loa’s West Flank this week. Mauna Loa volcano is not erupting.

JUNE 27th LAVA FLOW VIDEO

“Rain precluded our lava overflight yesterday, but abated long enough this morning for us to complete our mission. The north forest boundary remains active in two locations… about two to three miles from the Pu’u ‘O’o vent. Lava continues to ever so slowly expand the margins of the flow field in that area. The robust outbreaks to the east have now completely stopped. This is the area where lava had been making its way toward the crack that fed flows to the Pahoa area a little over a year ago. We saw no surface activity within at least two miles of the crack entrance. Pele is still not threatening any communities downslope. Due to steam and clouds, we were unable to visit the Pu’u ‘O’o vent today, but the area just below the vent that has been very active recently was once again welling up, breaking out and stretching, very much like the activity commonly seen in lava lakes.”Mick Kalber on Nov. 6, 2015

KILAUEA VOLCANO UPDATE

KILAUEA STATUS UPDATE
November 6, 2015

Activity Summary: Eruptions continue at Kīlauea Volcano’s summit and in its east rift zone at Puʻu ʻŌʻō. The summit is showing deflationary tilt and the lava lake level is roughly 50 m (164 ft) below the Overlook crater rim. Scattered breakouts remain active northeast of Puʻu ʻŌʻō, within about 7 km (4 miles) of the vent. There is no lava flow threat to nearby communities.

Summit Observations: Deflationary tilt began around midday on November 5. Consistent with the deflationary tilt, the lava lake level has dropped to roughly 50 m (164 ft) below the Overlook crater rim this morning. During the past day, intermittently high tremor and associated spattering activity at the lake’s surface has been occurring. Summit sulfur dioxide emission rates averaged 3,400 metric tons per day for the past week.

Puʻu ʻŌʻō Observations: Web cam images this morning show no significant change in eruptive activity within the crater. Tilt measured at Pu’u ‘Ō’ō shows minor deflation, presumably in response to tilt at the summit of Kīlauea. The sulfur dioxide emission rate from all East Rift Zone vents was about 150 metric tons per day when last measured on October 21, 2015.

June 27th Lava Flow Observations: This morning, webcam images show that scattered breakouts remain active between about 2.2 and 6.4 km (1.4 and 4 mi) northeast of Puʻu ʻŌʻō. There is no lava flow threat to nearby communities.

SOURCE: Recent Kilauea Status Reports

RECENT MAPS

This USGS map shows recent changes to Kīlauea’s active East Rift Zone lava flow field. The area of the flow on September 30 is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the flow as of October 23 (based on satellite imagery and ground mapping) is shown in red. The yellow lines show the active lava tube system. Puʻu ʻŌʻō lava flows erupted prior to June 27, 2014, are shown in gray.

This small-scale USGS map shows Kīlauea’s active East Rift Zone lava flow in relation to the eastern part of the Island of Hawaiʻi. The area of the flow on September 30 is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the flow as of October 23 is shown in red. The yellow lines show the active lava tube system. Puʻu ʻŌʻō lava flows erupted prior to June 27, 2014, are shown in gray. The black box shows the extent of the accompanying large scale map. The blue lines show steepest-descent paths calculated from a 1983 digital elevation model. Because the flow field is changing very little at the moment, mapping of the lava flow is being conducted relatively infrequently.

MAUNA LOA VOLCANO UPDATE

WEEKLY MAUNA LOA STATUS UPDATE
November 5, 2015

On Thursday, September 17, the Volcano Alert Level and Aviation Color Code for Mauna Loa was elevated to Advisory/Yellow based on long-term trends in both earthquake and deformation monitoring data.

Activity Summary: Mauna Loa is not erupting. A swarm of approximately 20 small earthquakes occurred on Mauna Loa’s West Flank at a depth of approximately 8 km (5 mi). Earthquakes occurred beneath Mauna Loa’s upper Southwest Rift Zone at rates greater than background but below earthquake rates recorded over the summer of 2015. Deformation data remain consistent with inflation of magma reservoirs beneath Mauna Loa’s summit and upper Southwest Rift Zone.

SOURCE: USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory