Kīlauea eruption daily update: Webcam imagery shows little or no fountaining as of this morning

The summit eruption of the Big Island’s Kīlauea volcano that began Sept. 10 continues, but activity has greatly decreased or even ceased at some vents.

Field crews observed the decrease in activity Friday morning. As of 9:45 a.m. Saturday, webcam imagery showed little or no fountaining since 7 a.m.; however, intermittent spattering was seen from the westernmost large cone throughout the night.

Thermal imaging shows that lava continues to flow onto the floor of Halema’uma’u crater, consistent with a very low level eruption.

The eruption is confined to the downdropped block and Halema‘uma‘u crater within the volcano’s summit caldera inside Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. No unusual activity has been noted along Kīlauea’s east or southwest rift zones.

Pāhoehoe lava continues to flow from the vent area on the western side of the downdropped block in north and west directions around elevated ground from the 1982 eruption and onto the eastern part of the Halema‘uma‘u crater floor.

Webcam imagery during the past day shows that the area of active lava has retreated even farther toward the vents, though numerous oozeouts of lava were visible in other parts of the crater floor overnight.

Summit tilt was mildly inflationary during most of the past 24 hours, with a switch to mild deflation early this morning. Summit seismic activity is dominated by eruptive tremor — a signal associated with fluid movement — with very few volcano tectonic earthquakes.

Since the eruption started, about 33 feet of uplift has been recorded in the western portion of the crater, demonstrating that lava intruded beneath the pre-existing crust within Halema‘uma‘u.

Effusion and gas emissions continue to decrease and the eruption continues at a greatly diminished rate; however, they are elevated.

The most recent sulfur dioxide emission rate of 20,000 tonnes per day was measured the afternoon of Sept. 13. This is down significantly from the 190,000 tonnes per day measured just after the onset of the eruption.

The live-stream video of the eruption is temporarily unavailable. When active again, it will be available here. More eruption information is available online.

For information about Kīlauea hazards, click here. Visit the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park website for visitor information.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory continues to closely monitor Kīlauea volcano.