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.
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.
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.
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