Kilauea Summit Update – 5/11/15

A light deflationary trend has continued into Monday at the summit of Kilauea Volcano. Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports that the surface of the Overlook crater lava lake remains just below the crater rim. When measured Sunday afternoon, the surface of the lake was reportedly about 10 yards below the rim of the crater, about four yards lower than what was measured on Saturday and eight yards lower than what was measured on Friday afternoon.

HVO noted Monday morning that seismicity below Kilauea’s summit and upper East and Southwest Rift Zones continues to remain elevated. A 4.5 magnitude earthquake, located just North of Na’alehu early Saturday, was evidence of the heightened levels.

At the Puʻu ʻŌʻō summit, tiltmeters on the north flank have shown slight fluctuations in tilt since Sunday morning, according to HVO. On Sunday morning, lava continued to erupt onto the Puʻu ʻŌʻō crater floor. Images collected by HVO from a thermal camera on the north rim of Puʻu ʻŌʻō did not show any active flows on the crater floor, as of Sunday afternoon. However, webcam views of nighttime incandescence provide possible evidence that lava was present in the collapsed pit, west of the main Puʻu ʻŌʻō crater.

In addition to the Puʻu ʻŌʻō crater, webcam imagery continues to provide HVO scientists with an observational tool in viewing the June 27 lava flow. Nighttime incandescence and daytime smoke indicate that surface flows remain active northeast of Puʻu ʻŌʻō. HVO continues to report that most of the surface flows in the area are from breakouts that began Feb. 21 and were located less than 2 miles from the northeast rim of Puʻu ʻŌʻō.