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- The two new flows that broke out on the flanks of the Puʻu ʻŌʻō cone on Kīlauea Volcano’s East Rift Zone on May 24 remained active early the morning of Friday, May 27, 2016. The flows were spreading laterally near the vent, but making little forward progress; as a result, they were not posing a threat to any community. The silvery sheen of new lava erupting from the northern breakout (center) and eastern breakout (far left) stands out in contrast to the older flows on and around Puʻu ʻŌʻō. Photo taken Friday, May 27, 2016 courtesy of USGS/HVO
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- The summit lava lake in Halemaʻumaʻu Crater was at a high level earlier in the week, and partly visible from the Jaggar Museum Overlook at times. But over the past few days, the lake level has dropped slightly. Nevertheless, the activity on the surface of the lava lake has been typical of normal activity, with frequent spattering on the lake margins, as shown here. This view looks north from the rim of Halemaʻumaʻu Crater, which is closed to the public due to ongoing volcanic hazards. Photo taken Thursday, May 26, 2016 courtesy of USGS/HVO
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- A closer look at the northern spatter source, which spanned roughly 30 meters (100 feet) of the lake margin. Photo taken Thursday, May 26, 2016 courtesy of USGS/HVO
(Kilauea Volcano status reports are a daily update written by scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.)
KILAUEA VOLCANO STATUS (5/28/16)
Activity Summary: Eruptive activity continues at Kīlauea Volcano’s summit and East Rift Zone. The two new lava flows from Puʻu ʻŌʻō are still active. At the summit, inflationary tilt has resumed and the lava lake level has risen slightly. As of yesterday, scattered lava flow activity continued on the June 27th lava flow field within about 5 km (3 mi) northeast of Puʻu ʻŌʻō. None of the Puʻu ʻŌʻō flows currently pose a threat to nearby communities.
Summit Observations: Inflationary tilt began midday yesterday and continues this morning. Based on web cam imagery, the lava lake level has risen slightly from yesterday’s measurement of 39.5 m (130 ft) below the floor of Halema’uma’u crater. Tremor fluctuations associated with lava lake spattering continue. Sulfur dioxide emissions from the summit vent ranged from 4,100 to 7,000 t/d during the past week. Data from GPS networks and interferometric satellite radar (InSAR) show continued long-term inflation of the summit and upper Southwest Rift Zone magma reservoirs.
Puʻu ʻŌʻō Observations: The two new lava flows from Puʻu ʻŌʻō, which began on May 24, are still active. As of yesterday, one lobe extended about 1.2 km (4,100 ft) to the northwest and the other about 1.2 km (4,100 ft) to the southeast. Webcam views of both breakouts overnight show continued surface activity feeding these flows. For recent photographs and maps of these two new active flows, see web links below. Very slow deflationary tilt at Puʻu ʻŌʻō continued over the past day. Persistent glow from spatter cones within the crater continues. The sulfur dioxide emission rate from all East Rift Zone vents was about 460 metric tons/day when last measured on May 24.
June 27th Lava Flow Observations: In addition to the new lava flows on the flanks of Puʻu ʻŌʻō, surface flow activity on the June 27th flow field continues, with small breakouts scattered northeast of Puʻu ʻŌʻō where they have been occurring for the past several months. Recent satellite images and aerial observations indicate that the active breakouts are within about 5 km (3 mi) northeast of Puʻu ʻŌʻō. The flows are not currently threatening any nearby communities.
The lava lake within the Halemaʻumaʻu Overlook crater. This is a close look at the northern spatter source, which spans roughly 30 meters (100 feet) of the lake margin. Video taken Friday, May 27, 2016 courtesy of USGS/HVO
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