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Halemaumau Overlook Vent time-lapse movie

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

A lava lake present within the Halema`uma`u Overlook vent during the past week resulted in night-time glow that was visible from the Jaggar Museum overlook. The lake, which is about 100–125 m (330–410 ft) below the floor of Halema`uma`u Crater and visible by HVO’s Webcam, rose and fell slightly during the week in response to a series of large deflation-inflation cycles.

On Kilauea’s east rift zone, surface lava flows on the coastal plain stalled last weekend, and lava stopped entering the ocean at West Ka`ili`ili, in response to the deflation-inflation cycles at the summit. New breakouts started near the top of the pali last weekend, but a lack of glow visible in monitoring Webcams since then indicates that these flows have markedly decreased or stopped (as of Thursday, January 5). Nighttime incandescence from the September 21 (Peace Day) fissure, and from vents in the Pu`u `O`o crater, suggests the continued presence of lava not far below the crater floor.

One earthquake beneath Hawai`i Island was reported felt this past week. A magnitude-3.7 earthquake occurred at 3:32 a.m., HST, on Tuesday, January 3, 2012, and was located 22 km (14 mi) east of Papa`ikou at a depth of 44 km (28 mi).

Visit the HVO Web site (http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov) for detailed Kilauea and Mauna Loa activity updates, recent volcano photos, recent earthquakes, and more; call (808) 967-8862 for a Kilauea summary; email questions to askHVO@usgs.gov.