Sluggish pāhoehoe breakouts remain active on the coastal plain, near the base of the pali. Over the past week, these breakouts have not advanced any significant distance. There were also several small lava channels on the steep section of the pali today (May 27). Photo taken Saturday, May 27, 2017 courtesy of USGS/HVO

A close up of one of the typical pāhoehoe toes. Photo taken Saturday, May 27, 2017 courtesy of USGS/HVO

Spattering on the summit lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u is ever-changing, but on Sunday (May 28), two sources could be seen—one on the north side of the lake (bright area at left) and one on the southeast side (right). A close-up view of the southeast spattering source is shown in the adjacent photo. Photo taken Sunday, May 28, 2017 courtesy of USGS/HVO

Spattering is common in the summit lava lake, and this photo shows spattering in the southeast corner of the lake. Spatter accumulation on the lake margins has built up several small peninsulas that extend a few meters (yards) out from the crater wall. Photo taken Sunday, May 28, 2017 courtesy of USGS/HVO

Numerous fumaroles are present near the rim of Halema‘uma‘u Crater, and are evident by the bright yellow sulfur deposits. In recent years these fumaroles have been covered by a thick carpet of Pele’s hair produced by the lava lake. Moisture emitted by the fumaroles collects as tiny water droplets on the fine hairs, resembling a thin dusting of snow. Photo taken Sunday, May 28, 2017 courtesy of USGS/HVO

Mauna Loa looms in the background behind the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park Jaggar Museum complex, perched at the summit of KÄ«lauea Volcano. The cliff in the foreground is KÄ«lauea’s caldera rim. Photo taken Wednesday, May 31, 2017 courtesy of USGS/HVO

View looking southeast along the long axis of the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u at KÄ«lauea’s summit. The lava lake is about 260 m (285 yd) long and 200 m (220 yd) wide. Photo taken Wednesday, May 31, 2017 courtesy of USGS/HVO

View looking northeast at KÄ«lauea’s summit lava lake. Photo taken Wednesday, May 31, 2017 courtesy of USGS/HVO

KÄ«lauea Volcano’s Kamokuna ocean entry is fed by lava that erupts from the east flank of the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō cone, visible on the skyline at upper left. It travels from the vent to the ocean via a lava tube, marked in places by fume emanating from the tube roof. Photo taken Wednesday, May 31, 2017 courtesy of USGS/HVO

Steep aerial view of the Kamokuna lava delta. Photo taken Wednesday, May 31, 2017 courtesy of USGS/HVO

View of the Kamokuna lava delta and the lava structure encasing the lava stream where it emerges from the mouth of the lava tube in the face of the sea cliff. Photo taken Wednesday, May 31, 2017 courtesy of USGS/HVO

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This video clip shows HVO geologist Tim Orr sampling lava from an active pāhoehoe breakout on the episode 61g lava flow. The chemistry of these lava samples provides information on the magma plumbing system. Sampling has been a regular part of monitoring KÄ«lauea Volcano’s ongoing Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō eruption. Video taken Wednesday, May 31, 2017 courtesy of USGS/HVO

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Time-lapse thermal image movie of Halemaumau Overlook Vent. May 25-June 1, 2017. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO

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Time-lapse movie of Halemaumau Overlook Vent. May 25-June 1, 2017. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO

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Time-lapse movie of Halemaʻumaʻu Overlook Vent from Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. May 25-June 1, 2017. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO

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Time-lapse movie of KÄ«lauea Caldera from Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. May 25-June 1, 2017. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO

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

This past week, Kīlauea Volcano’s summit lava lake fluctuated in concert with summit inflation and deflation, with levels ranging around 17–37 m (56–121 ft) below the vent rim. On the East Rift Zone, the 61g flow remained active, with lava entering the ocean near Kamokuna and scattered surface breakouts downslope of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō, some reaching the base of the pali. These flows do not pose an immediate threat to nearby communities.

Mauna Loa is not erupting. During the past week, small-magnitude earthquakes were recorded, mostly from beneath the volcano’s summit caldera and upper Southwest Rift Zone at depths of about 2–3 km (1–2 mi). Microearthquakes also occurred on the east flank at depths of 5-13 km (3-8 mi). GPS measurements continue to show deformation consistent with inflation of a magma reservoir beneath the summit and upper Southwest Rift Zone. No significant changes in volcanic gas emissions were measured.

Two earthquakes were reported felt on the Island of Hawaiʻi during the past week. On May 27, at 10:24 a.m. HST, a magnitude-3.5 earthquake occurred 14 km (9 mi) northeast of Pāhala at a depth of 4 km (2 mi). On May 26, at 11:03 a.m., a magnitude-2.5 earthquake occurred 2 km (1 mi) northeast of Leilani Estates at a depth of 3 km (2 mi).

Please visit the HVO website (https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hvo) for past Volcano Watch articles, KÄ«lauea daily eruption updates, Mauna Loa weekly updates, volcano photos, recent earthquakes info, and more. Call for summary updates at 808-967-8862 (KÄ«lauea) or 808-967-8866 (Mauna Loa). Email questions to askHVO@usgs.gov.

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Time-lapse movie of Pu’u ‘O’o Crater. May 25-June 1, 2017. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO

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Time-lapse image movie from a research camera positioned on Holei Pali, looking east towards Lava Flow 61G and Kalapana. May 25-June 1, 2017. Images courtesy of USGS/HVO

This map shows recent changes to KÄ«lauea’s East Rift Zone lava flow field. The area of the active flow field as of May 3 is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the active flow as of May 31 is shown in red. Older Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō lava flows (1983–2016) are shown in gray. The yellow line is the trace of the active lava tube (dashed where uncertain).
The blue lines over the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō flow field are steepest-descent paths calculated from a 2013 digital elevation model (DEM), while the blue lines on the rest of the map are steepest-descent paths calculated from a 1983 DEM (for calculation details, see http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1264/). Steepest-descent path analysis is based on the assumption that the DEM perfectly represents the earth’s surface. DEMs, however, are not perfect, so the blue lines on this map can be used to infer only approximate flow paths. The base map is a partly transparent 1:24,000-scale USGS digital topographic map draped over the 1983 10-m digital elevation model (DEM).