Categorized | Sci-Tech

Volcano Watch: Kilauea activity update for week of Oct. 15

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

Lava continues to erupt from the TEB vent on Kilauea’s east rift zone and flow through tubes to the ocean at Waikupanaha. Surface flows continue to be active on the lower pali and coastal plain, but have been largely flowing over the existing flow field this past week, creating only very minor expansion of the east margin of the TEB flow field.

As of this writing (Thursday, Oct. 22), the active lobe on the coastal plain was 700 yards north of the coast, near the former location of the Kalapana access road.

The lava pond appeared briefly deep within the Halemaumau vent cavity on Sunday, October 18, but for the remainder of the week it was out of view, and only degassing holes at the floor of the cavity have been visible since then. Volcanic gas emissions remain elevated, resulting in high concentrations of sulfur dioxide downwind.

One earthquake beneath Hawaii Island was reported felt this past week. A magnitude-3.1 earthquake occurred at 00:48 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009, 15 miles south of Kalapana at a depth of 24 miles.

Visit the HVO Website (http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov) for detailed Kilauea and Mauna Loa activity updates, recent volcano photos, recent earthquakes, and more; call 967-8862 for a Kilauea summary; email questions to askHVO@usgs.gov.

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