VolcanoWatch 26 June 2011

VoW: The Restive Kīlauea

Kīlauea: Probably the World’s Most Active Volcano

Kīlauea is the youngest volcano on the Big Island of Hawai`i.

The active lava lake in Pu`u `Ō `ō and its levee. View looking east into Pu`u `Ō `ō, its crater partly filled by lava flows accumulating on the crater floor. The active lava lake in the crater is 205 m (673 ft) long and varies in width from 80–115 m (262–377 ft). The West Gap pit is in the central foreground, and the Puka Nui and MLK pits are to the right (the MLK pit is in back). The crater has filled in vertically about 100 m (328 ft) since the crater collapsed on March 5, 2011, at the start of the uprift Kamoamoa eruption. It still has about 12 m (39 ft) to go to reach the level of the crater floor prior to the collapse. Source of image and caption: HVO. Click images to enlarge.

Lighter-colored patches of lava on the crater floor are recent overflows. Source: HVO.

Along with overflows, low-level spattering from points wandering around the perimeter of the lava lake continually builds up the levee that impounds the lake. Source: HVO.

The lava lake’s levee stands up to 8 m (26 ft) above the surrounding crater floor. This steep-sided levee impounds the lava and forms what is called a “perched” lava lake. Pieces of the rim occasionally collapse into the lake, leading to sudden and fast-moving overflows of lava onto the crater floor. Source: HVO.

Map of Kīlauea. Source: HVO

• Location: 19.425ºN 155.292ºW
• Elev.: 1,277 m a.s.l.
• Area: 1,430 km² (13.7% of Hawai`i)
• Volume: 25,000-35,000 km³

Click HERE for more images and information …

Weekly Volcanic Activity Report

(based on SI /USGS report for 15 June – 21 June 2011)

New activity/unrest:

• Etna, Sicily [Group A]
• Nabro, Eritrea — [Group C]
• Puyehue-Cordón Caulle, Central Chile —  [Group D]
• Turrialba, Costa Rica [Group F]

FEWW Map of Volcanoes

Map of Volcanoes. Background Map: University of Michigan. Designed and enhanced by Fire Earth Blog. Click image to enlarge.

Ongoing Activity

• Batu Tara, Komba Island (Indonesia)
• Egon, Flores Island (Indonesia)
• Karymsky, Eastern Kamchatka (Russia)
• Kilauea, Hawaii (USA)
• Paluweh, Lesser Sunda Islands (Indonesia)
• Shiveluch, Central Kamchatka (Russia)

• Activity
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Current Alerts for U.S. Volcanoes

• Kilauea Watch Orange 2011-06-25 07:53:30
• Pagan Advisory Yellow 2011-06-24 10:23:48
• Long Valley Volcanic Center Normal Green 2011-06-24 17:58:30
• Mauna Loa Normal Green 2011-06-04 07:16:42
• Hualalai Normal Green 2011-06-04 07:16:42
• Haleakala Normal Green 2011-06-04 07:16:42
• Mauna Kea Normal Green 2011-06-04 07:16:42
• Yellowstone Normal Green 2011-06-01 14:15:51
• Lo`ihi Unassigned 2011-06-04 07:16:42

US Volcanoes: Webcams

Related Links

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• VolcanoWatch Weekly [28 Oct 2009]
• VolcanoWatch Weekly [26 Oct 2009]

• Messages From Earth’s Powerhouse
• Weekly Volcano Watch: 19 March 2009
• A New Era of Intense Volcanic Unrest May Have Begun

• FEWW Volcano Links

• Volcanoes
• FEWW Earthquake Links

Kilauea SO2 emissions tops 10,000 tpd

Kilauea Volcano: Elevated Seismicity, Increased Effusion

Volcano Shows Increased Effusion Rates, Significantly Elevated Seismicity at summit and east rift zone

Lava pours from the fissure just after daybreak and cascades out of sight into a deep crack. HVO geologist near upper right for perspective. Source: HVO. Click image to enlarge.

HVO/USGS Volcanic Activity Warning

Volcano: Kilauea (CAVW #1302-01-)
Current Volcano Alert Level: WARNING
Current Aviation Color Code: ORANGE
Previous Aviation Color Code: RED

Issued: Monday, March 7, 2011, 6:13 PM HST (March 8, 2011, at 04:1UTC)
Source: Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
Notice Number: 2011/H2
Location: N 19 deg 25 min W 155 deg 17 min
Elevation: 4,091 ft (1,247 m)
Area: HI Hawaii and Pacific Ocean

Volcanic Activity Summary from HVO:  Eruption continues at Kīlauea volcano’s east rift zone  with intermittent activity at alternating locations along a 2.3 km long fissure between Pu’u ‘Ō’ō and Nāpau Crater. Effusion rates are high, with lava spatter reaching as high as  30m.

East rift zone gas emissions are significantly elevated above the 300 tonnes/day measured during the past several months and as recently as March 5, prior to the fissure eruption. Gas measurements on March 6 show an average SO2 emission rate of 10,000 tonnes/day, the highest measured on the east rift zone since an eruptive surge in July 2008 produced an emission rate of 7,000 tonnes/day. Summit SO2 emissions on March 6 were around 600 tonnes/day.

The TEB eruption system downrift (ENE) of Pu’u ‘Ō’ō appears to have shut down. During today’s overflight of the flow field, no active lava flows were observed on the pali or coastal plain.

Seismicity remains significantly elevated at both Kīlauea’s summit and east rift zone.

Deflation appears to be slowing at the summit and east rift zone.

At Kīlauea’s summit, the lava lake within the Halema’uma’u Crater vent is about 200 m deep, based on visual estimates. A rockfall within the vent at 2:23 p.m. HST today produced a vigorous dusty brown plume.

The fissure is located just west of Pu`u `Ō `ō Crater. Spatter was reaching heights of 40 m (130 ft). Source: HVO

Most of the day’s activity was focused at this vent, around which a low cone was forming. Pu`u `Ō `ō is visible in the background to the northeast. Source: HVO

Source: HVO.  Click image to enlarge.

Video showing lava pouring from the fissure into a seemingly bottomless crack

Video showing lava pouring from the fissure into a seemingly bottomless crack. Napau Crater in the background. Helicopter for scale. Source: HVO

Video showing spattering from the most persistent vent of the day just west of the base of Pu`u `Ō `ō near the northeastern end of the fissure system.

Lava spatters above the fissure just west of the base of Pu`u `Ō `ō

Related Links

• Heightened Activity at Kilauea Volcano
• Kilauea Volcano Continues to Discharge Lava
• Kilauea — Perhaps the World’s Most Active Volcano [Introduction]

• Huge amounts of lava continue to flow from world’s most active volcano in Hawaii, damaging an unoccupied home (Video)
• New Kilauea volcano land collapses explosively into ocean

• Emissions from Kilauea Volcano Brochure
• Lava Viewing Safety Card
• Department of Health Notification of Elevated SO2 and Particulate Levels

• Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park
• More images
• Maps

• Halema`uma`u webcam
• Pu`u `Ō `ō webcam

HVO Links:

Kīlauea Update | Mauna Loa Status | Deformation | Maps | Webcams | Images | Movies

Hawaii Volcanoes  Webcams

Kīlauea Summit
Halema`uma`u from HVO	Halema`uma`u from Overlook
Kīlauea East Rift Zone
Pu`u `Ō `ō	Thanksgiving Eve Breakout From Pu`u `Ō `ō
Napau Crater
Mauna Loa Summit
Mokuawe`owe`o, Mauna Loa Summit Caldera

Heightened Activity at Kilauea Volcano

New Fissure at  Kilauea Spews Lava 25m into the Air

HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY CURRENT STATUS REPORT
Sunday, March 6, 2011 6:34 PM HST (Monday, March 7, 2011 04:34 UTC)

KILAUEA VOLCANO (CAVW#1302-01-)
19.42°N 155.29°W, Summit Elevation 4,091 ft (1,247 m)
Volcano Alert Level: WARNING
Aviation Color Code: RED

HVO said: “A fissure that opened on Kilauea’s east rift zone after yesterday’s collapse of the Pu’u ‘O’o crater floor continues to erupt lava. Activity along the fissure was sporadic overnight and throughout today, with periods of quiet punctuated by episodes of lava spattering up to 25 m (80 ft) high.”

Fire Earth: A new fissure at Kilauea Volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii spatters lava

A close-up of spattering fissure. Credit: HVO. Click image to enlarge.

View looking at the NE end of the actively propagating fissure. Lava is just breaking the surface in foreground crack.  Credit: HVO. Click image to enlarge.

• To view a video of this event click here.

Ash cloud rising from Pu`u `Ō `ō as crater floor collapses [5 March 2011]

Ash cloud rising from Pu`u `Ō `ō as crater floor collapses due to magma withdrawal. Incandescent rubble can be seen crumbling and rolling down the scarp. The east rim of Pu`u `Ō `ō is in the foreground. Credit: HVO

Several video clips showing wall and rim collapses of Halema`uma`u

There was a series of vent wall and rim collapses on March 3, much like those than occurred in January and February. This video, compiled from the Webcam on the rim of Halema`uma`u above the vent, is one of the larger collapses, and shows the northwest rim of the vent falling into the lava lake. Credit: HVO. Click image to view the video clip.

• Video clip 2 HCAM March 3, 2011

Click image to view a clip captured by a video camera on the rim of Halema`uma`u to the southwest of the vent, showing a small chunk of the western rim of the vent collapsing into the lava lake.  Credit: HVO.

Archive image of lava from a previous eruption at Kilauea Volcano.  Credit: HVO

Source: [http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/united_states Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection]

Map showing the extent of the “July 2007 eruption”, or Episode 58, flow field relative to surrounding communities. Reddish-brown is the active flow as mapped on January 13, 2011, while bright red shows the advancement of the flow from January 13-February 4. Light red represents older flows erupted during Episode 58 of the ongoing East Rift Zone eruption. Episode 58 started in July 2007. Flows erupted during 1983-2007 are shown in more muted colors and labeled with the years in which they were active. Click image to enlarge. Credit: HVO

Map showing the extent of the active flows. Reddish-brown is the flow as mapped on February 4, 2011, while bright red shows the advancement of the flow from January 13-February 4. Small ocean entries remains active at the front of both the western and eastern branches of the flow. Light red represents older flows erupted during Episode 58 of the ongoing East Rift Zone eruption. Episode 58 started in July 2007. Lava erupted while Kupaianaha was active from 1986-1992 (Episode 48) is shown in light yellow. Click image to enlarge. Credit: HVO

The Big Island, Hawaii

The Island of Hawaiʻi (the Big Island or Hawaiʻi Island) is a volcanic island With an area of 4,028 square miles (10,432 km²), it is the largest island in the United States and larger than all of the other Hawaiian Islands combined.

The Island of Hawaiʻi is built from five separate shield volcanoes that erupted somewhat sequentially, one overlapping the other. These are (from oldest to youngest):

• Kohala (dormant),
• Mauna Kea (dormant),
• Hualālai (dormant),
• Mauna Loa (active, partly within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park), and
• Kīlauea (very active; part of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park).

This simulated true-color image of the island of Hawai’i was derived from data gathered by the Enhanced Thematic Mapper plus (ETM+) on the Landsat 7 satellite between 1999 and 2001. Image: NASA/NOAA

The lava fountain on shield 3 (12-15 m high). USGS Archive image.

Related Links:

• Kilauea Volcano Continues to Discharge Lava
• Kilauea — Perhaps the World’s Most Active Volcano [Introduction]

• Huge amounts of lava continue to flow from world’s most active volcano in Hawaii, damaging an unoccupied home (Video)
• New Kilauea volcano land collapses explosively into ocean

• Emissions from Kilauea Volcano Brochure
• Lava Viewing Safety Card
• Department of Health Notification of Elevated SO2 and Particulate Levels

• Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park
• More images
• Maps

• Halema`uma`u webcam
• Pu`u `Ō `ō webcam

Other Volcano News:

New Zealand’s Mount Ruapehu crater lake has heated up to 40ºC, reported to be the lake’s third-highest temperature rise in 10 years.

HVO Links:

Kīlauea Update | Mauna Loa Status | Deformation | Maps | Webcams | Images | Movies

Kīlauea Summit
Halema`uma`u from HVO	Halema`uma`u from Overlook
Kīlauea East Rift Zone
Pu`u `Ō `ō	Thanksgiving Eve Breakout From Pu`u `Ō `ō
Napau Crater
Mauna Loa Summit
Mokuawe`owe`o, Mauna Loa Summit Caldera