Volcano Update from Archive

Friday, June 14, 2013 7:42 AM HST (Friday, June 14, 2013 17:42 UTC)


Current Volcano Alert Level: WATCH
Current Aviation Color Code: ORANGE

Activity Summary: Eruption continues. Extension across the summit caldera may be slowing while the lava lake level remained fairly stable. At the middle east rift zone, the Kahauale`a II lava flow continued burning forest north of Pu`u `O`o. Southeast of Pu`u `O`o, the Peace Day flow had active breakouts at the base of the pali and on the coastal plain. Most of the flow, however, stayed within its lava tube until reaching the ocean on both the east and west sides of the Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park boundary. Gas emissions remained elevated.

Recent Observations at Kilauea summit: At the summit, tiltmeters recorded more fluctuations without an obvious longer-term trend. The summit lava lake dropped slightly overnight but is still ~45 m (~150 ft) below the Halema`uma`u crater floor. The most recent sulfur dioxide emission rate measurement was 900 t/d on June 13, 2013; this value is a minimum because the data were acquired close to the vent where the plume is most dense and challenging to fully characterize. A very small amount of ash-sized tephra (mostly fresh spatter bits and Pele's hair) was carried aloft by the plume and deposited onto nearby surfaces.

Seismic tremor levels were low without dropouts suggesting that spattering and gas emissions have been continuous. Two earthquakes were strong enough to be located beneath Kilauea Volcano in the past 24 hours - 1 beneath the lower southwest rift zone and 1 on south flank faults. GPS receivers spanning the summit caldera recorded continuing extension (about 1 cm/wk).


Recent Observations at the middle east rift zone vents: The tiltmeter at Pu`u `O`o cone recorded minor fluctuations. The GPS line length from the north rim to the south base of Pu`u `O`o cone showed fluctuations without a longer-term trend since mid-May. The most recent (preliminary) sulfur dioxide emission rate measurement was 300 tonnes/day on June 7, 2013, from all east rift zone sources; these values have ranged between 150 and 450 t/d in 2013; measurements are made at a greater distance from the sources where the plume is more easily characterized.

Spatter cones on the crater floor of Pu`u `O`o showed their typical incandescence and the northeast spatter cone continued to feed the Kahauale`a II lava flow north of Pu`u `O`o. As of Tuesday, the farthest front of the Kahaulae`a flow is about 2.4 km (1.5 mi) due north of Pu`u `O`o and is burning forest at the north edge of Pu`u `O`o's 1983-1986 `a`a flow field. A second, more active, front is about 1.8 km (1.1 mi) NNW of Pu`u `O`o and is also burning the edge of the forest. Finally, the breakout from the Kahauale`a tube on the lower northern flank of Pu`u `O`o continued to be active and may be building a low shield at the base of Pu`u `O`o cone. PNcam views show this activity continues.

Southeast of Pu`u `O`o, the Peace Day flow hosts breakouts at the base of the pali, near the east margin of the Peace Day flow at the coast, and about mid-way across the coastal plain near the Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park boundary. Most of the Peace Day flow, however, stayed in lava tubes that empty into the ocean in two places - a main entry point, producing a persistent gas plume, just east of the Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park boundary, and a smaller entry point, producing a smaller, intermittent gas plume, just inside the National Park.





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Definitions of Terms Used:


fill-and-drain, rise/fall cycles/events or high lava stands: one of the cyclical behaviors exhibited by the summit lava lake in starting in 2009. An event starts with a rise in lava level, a decrease in high-frequency summit tremor amplitude, and a small decrease in tilt. After a period of minutes to hours, the lava will abruptly drain back to its previous level, seismic tremor amplitude will increase for a short time (a seismic tremor burst), and summit tilt will return to its previous level. Although not measured continuously, spot checks of gas emissions demonstrate that far less gas is released during the high lava stand than during its draining phase suggesting that, during the high lava stand, lava is puffed up with gas trapped by crusts on the lava surface; the gas plume will also get thin and wispy during these cycles returning to more robustness afterward. In 2013, the character of these events has changed and are marked more by a lack of spattering sinks and less by a rise in lava level or tilt change during the low seismic tremor levels.



pali: Hawaiian term for cliff or precipice.


Halema`uma`u Overlook vent: has been difficult to describe concisely. The vent is actually a pit, or crater, in the floor of the larger Halema`uma`u Crater which is, in turn, in the floor of the larger Kilauea caldera or crater - a crater within a crater within a crater. It is easiest to describe as a pit inset within the floor of a crater within a caldera. The pit is about 160 m (525 ft) in diameter at the Halema`uma`u Crater floor, is about 50 m in diameter at a depth of 200 m (660 ft) below the Halema`uma`u Crater floor. From November, 2009, to now, a lava pond surface has been visible in this pit.

glow: light from an unseen source; indirect light.


CD: Hawai`i County Civil Defense




microradian: a measure of angle equivalent to 0.000057 degrees.

