http://youtu.be/DfiWTc7CJZo
Time-lapse movie of Halemaumau Overlook Vent

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

This composite image is an overlay of a thermal image over a normal photograph, and shows the active flows traveling down the pali, through Royal Gardens subdivision. The names of the roads not covered by lava are shown in white text. The last occupied residence in Royal Gardens is just west of the Plumeria-Hoku intersection. Red and purple areas in the thermal image show recent, but inactive, flows, while the yellow and white areas are active breakouts. The image shows that the main active flow front is about level with Plumeria street, in line with Ali`i avenue. Behind this flow front, at the top of Royal Gardens subdivision near `Ekaha street level, is another area of active breakouts farther west. Photo courtesy of USGS/HVO

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 normally about 90–115 m (295–377 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 were advancing slowly down the pali over the past week. As of Thursday, March 1, flows were active in the middle part of Royal Gardens subdivision, reaching down to an elevation of about 180 m (600 ft). These flows are following the general path of earlier Peace Day flows, which may bring them close to the last few standing structures in Royal Gardens. There are no active flows on the coastal plain, and there is no active ocean entry.

Nine earthquakes beneath Hawai`i Island were reported felt this past week. Between 9 p.m. Thursday, February 23, and 9:30 am Friday, February 24, HST, eight magnitude-1.6 to -4.3 earthquakes were located 4-5 km (2.5-4.5 mi) northwest of Kilauea summit at a depth of 4-7 km (2.5-3 mi). The two largest were a magnitude-4.1 earthquake at 9:02 p.m. on Thursday and magnitude-4.3 at 3:52 a.m. on Friday. A magnitude-2.3 earthquake occurred at 10:37 p.m. on Saturday, February 25, and was located 5 km (3 mi) southeast of Kapoho at a depth of 0.3 km (0.2 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

Map showing the extent of lava flows erupted during Kilauea'€™s ongoing east rift zone eruption and labeled with the years in which they were active. Episodes 1–48b (1983–€“1986) are shown in dark gray; episodes 48c–49 (1986–1992) are pale yellow; episodes 50–€“53 and 55 (1992–2007) are tan; episode 54 (1997) is yellow; episode 58 (2007–2011) is pale orange; the episode 59 Kamoamoa eruption (March 2011) is at left in light reddish orange; and the episode 60 Pu‘u ‘O‘o overflows and flank breakout (Mar–August 2011) is orange. The currently active flow (episode 61) is shown as the two shades of red–€”pink is the extent of the flow from September 21, 2011, to February 8, 2012, and bright red marks flow expansion from February 8 to February 24. The active lava tube is delineated by the yellow line within the active flow field. The contour interval on Pu‘u ‘O‘o is 5 m. Map courtesy of USGS/HVO