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Time-lapse movie of Halemaumau overlook vent

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Time-lapse thermal image movie of Halemaumau overlook vent

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

A lava lake within the Halema‘uma‘u Overlook vent produced nighttime glow that was visible from the Jaggar Museum overlook and via HVO’s Webcam during the past week. Deflation at Kilauea’s summit, likely the start of a deflation-inflation (DI) cycle, began on Monday, December 31 and was ongoing as of this writing (Thursday, January 3). The level of the lava lake level dropped in response, leading to small collapses from the rim of the lake.

On Kilauea’s east rift zone, surface lava flows remain active on the coastal plain near the eastern boundary of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Lava is entering the ocean on both side of the boundary. Within Pu‘u ‘O‘o, glow and small, sporadic lava flows emanate from openings in the northeastern, northwestern, and southeastern parts of the crater floor.

There were two felt earthquakes reported on the Island of Hawai‘i in the past week. On December 30, 2012, at 5:24 p.m., HST, a magnitude-2.9 earthquake occurred 7 km (4 mi) west of Kailua-Kona at a depth of 34 km ( 21 mi). On January 3, 2013, at 6:15 a.m., a magnitude-2.8 earthquake occurred 9 km (6 mi) east of Mauna Kea Summit at a depth of 25 km (16 mi).