Kahaualeʻa Cone, shown here, has long been a small oasis in the midst of Puʻu ʻŌʻō lava. New lava from the active Kahaualeʻa flow has now surrounded the cone, which has also partly burned. Vent structures the episode 58, active from 2007 to 2011, are in the background just behind Kahaualeʻa. Puʻu ʻŌʻō is out of sight to the right. Photo courtesy of USGS/HVO

The Kahaualeʻa flow (outlined), at the center of the photo, has reached 4.4 km (2.7 miles) northeast from its source in Puʻu ʻŌʻō, which is in the background. Photo courtesy of USGS/HVO

[jwplayer config=”480×360-4:3″ mediaid=”81722″]
Time-lapse movie of Halemaumau overlook vent

[jwplayer config=”480×360-4:3″ mediaid=”81723″]
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. The lake level fluctuated in response to summit deflation–inflation cycles, ranging between about 25 and 60 m (80–200 ft) below the floor of Halema`uma`u.

On Kilauea’s east rift zone, breakouts from the Peace Day tube remain active above and at the base of the pali and on the coastal plain. Small ocean entries are active on both sides of the Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park boundary. In addition, the Kahauale`a flow, fed directly from a spatter cone on the northeastern edge of Pu`u `O`o’s crater floor, continues to advance slowly toward the northeast across a plain of 1980s-era `a`a flows.

There were no felt earthquakes in the past week on the Island of Hawai`i.

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

[jwplayer config=”550×310-16:9″ mediaid=”81725″]
Time-lapse multi-image movie of Pu‘u ‘O‘o Crater

[jwplayer config=”550×310-16:9″ mediaid=”81724″]
Time-lapse movie of the Peace Day Flow area

The map shows the active Peace Day flow (light reddish orange) and the active Kahaualeʻa flow north of Puʻu ʻŌʻō (pink) as of February 25, 2013. Widening of both flow fields—the Peace Day flow field between February 25 and March 15 and the Kahaualeʻa flow field between February 25 and March 19—is shown in bright red. Older lava flows are labeled with the years in which they were active. Episodes 1–48b (1983–1986) are shown in gray; episodes 48c–49 (1986–1992) are pale yellow; episodes 50–55 (1992–2007) are tan; and episodes 58–60 (2007–2011) are pale orange. The contour interval for topographic lines shown on Puʻu ʻŌʻō is 5 m.