(BIVN) – The eruption at the summit of Kīlauea volcano on Hawaiʻi island has paused. 

Scientists with the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory on Saturday confirmed that the eruptive activity greatly decreased at approximately 9:45 a.m., and stopped at around 10:10 a.m. 

“Seismic tremor dropped just before 10:10 a.m. and the deflationary tilt that accompanied the start of Episode 4 on January 15 reversed at about 10:00 a.m. and is now inflating,” wrote the USGS HVO in a morning status report.

The pause signals the end of the 4th episode of the summit eruption that began on December 23.

From the USGS HVO:

Lava within Halemaʻumaʻu crater continues to slowly move and crustal overturns are expected in the hours following the pause. The vents may continue to glow and degassing currently remains at high level. It is uncertain if lava drainback will occur as the vents have built up an internal structure that may stop lava from flowing back down into the vents.

HVO continues to closely monitor Kīlauea and will issue an eruption update tomorrow morning, or a status report before then if there are significant changes to report. HVO remains in close contact with Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park and the Hawai‘i County Civil Defense Agency.