Kilauea Summit Update – 5/5/15

Kilauea’s summit remains active Tuesday. However, no significant change in tilt at the summit has been noted since Monday morning.

According to Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, the lava lake at the summit’s Overlook crater has been near or at the rim consistently over the past day. There have been several instances where the lake overflowed just barely onto the Halema’uma’u Crater floor during the day.

The lava lake measured just 4 yards above the original floor of Halema’uma’u Crater on Monday, according to HVO officials Tuesday morning. Due to the recent overflows, an accumulation and build up on the rim of the Overlook crater has caused the crater to sit several meters above the original floor of Halema’uma’u Crater.

Tuesday morning, HVO scientists say the lava lake was close to the rim of the Overlook crater.

Seismicity remains elevated below Kilauea’s summit and upper East and Southwest Rift Zones.

Since Monday morning, the tiltmeter on Puʻu ʻŌʻō’s north flank has recorded deflationary tilt. There have been no other noticeable changes at Puʻu ʻŌʻō.

HVO scientists who continue to monitor the June 27 lava flow have used webcam views of nighttime incandescence and daytime smoke to determine that the surface flows northeast of Puʻu ʻŌʻō continue to remain active. The most recent mapping, done on April 23rd, shows that the furthest active flow was about 5 miles from Puʻu ʻŌʻō.