VOLCANO VIDEO: ‘Pele Reunites With Na Maka’

This video was shot by Mick Kalber, Tropical Visions Video at 5:30am, Wednesday, July 27, 2016.

Paradise Helicopters reports that Pele has once again reunited with her sister, Na Maka, the Goddess of the Sea.

Lava touched the ocean early Tuesday morning, as a very fluid pāhoehoe flow covered the newly completed access road and moved quickly to the coast. The ocean entry is within the boundary of HVNP.

Pele rolled over Pulama Pali a month ago, mostly between Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park and the abandoned Royal Gardens subdivision. This new flow, dubbed 61G, is now about 6 miles long.

The flow is currently 66 feet wide where it spills over the sea cliff. Another narrow lobe of the flow has advanced along the west margin of the main flow.

Paradise Helicopters found “a beautiful lava lake to the west and a great deal of lava moving quickly through a skylight on the northeast corner.”

Areas of incandescence remain visible in overnight webcam views of the active lava flow field, marking lava tube skylights and areas of active lava on the pali and along the flow as it extends towards the coast.

Dozens of visitors made their way on foot and by boat to take in the captivating scene of hot liquid rock interacting with the Pacific Ocean. Some stood directly over the main breakout feeding lava into the water—others kept their distance.

Lava from the 61g flow continues into the ocean along Kīlauea’s south coast. Today’s field crew also noted active pāhoehoe breakouts a few hundred yards upslope from the coast and road. USGS/HVO photo.

CAUTION TO VISITORS

As a strong caution to visitors viewing the new ocean entry, there are additional significant hazards besides walking on uneven surfaces and around unstable, extremely steep sea cliffs. Venturing too close to an ocean entry exposes you to flying debris created by the explosive interaction between lava and water.

Also, the new land created is unstable because it is built on unconsolidated lava fragments and sand. This loose material can easily be eroded away by surf causing the new land to become unsupported and slide into the sea. Finally, the interaction of lava with the ocean creates an acidic plume laden with fine volcanic particles that can irritate the skin, eyes, and lungs.

USGS/Hawaii Volcano Observatory Report for Wednesday, July 27

Activity Summary: Eruptive activity continues at Kīlauea Volcano’s summit and East Rift Zone. The 61G lava flow extending southeast of Puʻu ʻŌʻō entered the ocean yesterday at 1:12 a.m. HST and poses no threat to nearby communities. The lava lake at Halemaʻumaʻu Crater continues to circulate and intermittently spatter. Seismicity and deformation rates throughout the volcano remain at background levels.

Summit Observations: The lava lake within the Halemaʻumaʻu Overlook crater remains active. The depth to the lake was estimated at 22 m (82 ft) below the crater rim, measured this morning. Tiltmeters at Kīlauea’s summit recorded flat tilt. Seismicity is within normal, background rates with tremor fluctuations associated with lava lake spattering. A magnitude 2.7 earthquake in the summit caldera was felt yesterday. The summit sulfur dioxide emission rate ranged from 2,400 to 7,200 metric tons/day measured yesterday.

Puʻu ʻŌʻō Observations: Webcam images over the past 24 hours show persistent glow at long-term sources within the crater. There were no significant changes in seismicity or tilt over the past 24 hours. The sulfur dioxide emission rate from all East Rift Zone vents on July 25 was about 280 metric tons/day.

View HVO’s webcam images.