Kilauea - Page 2

aurora · #31 (**permalink**) 08-July-2008, 08:33 PM

A few days ago, the summit started to deflate while the rift zone stayed the same or inflated a little. So things were pretty stable at the summit, and what I thought might happen (lava at the surface at the summit) didn't happen. At least, not yet.

A little excitement last night:

Quote:

Activity Summary for last 24 hours: Two small explosion-like earthquake signals were recorded from the Halema`uma`u vent last night and produced minor amounts of ash. Kilauea summit continued to deflate while Pu`u `O`o weakly inflates. Elevated amounts of sulfur dioxide gas continued to issue from the Halema`uma`u vent. At the east rift eruption site, an unusually high amount of sulfur dioxide gas issued from Pu`u `O`o crater; more lava than usual continued to erupt from the TEB vent area and flow into the tube system feeding multiple but short surface flows.

Swift · #32 (**permalink**) 08-July-2008, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dgavin

Hey all, here are some links to imagry from the current breakout.

The Flow itself

That would be so "cool" standing there taking those pictures. Just as long as there was a clear path to runaway if necessary.

Torsten · #33 (**permalink**) 08-July-2008, 09:25 PM

Wow. Like a lesson out of a textbook. Aa burying pahoehoe.

jlhredshift · #34 (**permalink**) 10-July-2008, 02:58 PM

she's at it again

Fox news update at 10:02 not on web yet.

NECN current video

Swift · #35 (**permalink**) 10-July-2008, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jlhredshift

NECN current video

Wow, great video. I want to go!

jlhredshift · #36 (**permalink**) 10-July-2008, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swift

Wow, great video. I want to go!

That would be a hot time!

Torsten · #37 (**permalink**) 10-July-2008, 09:48 PM

I kept thinking as I viewed it, "Where do you set down in an emergency?"

Grashtel · #38 (**permalink**) 11-July-2008, 01:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Torsten

I kept thinking as I viewed it, "Where do you set down in an emergency?"

My guess is the answer would be something along the lines of "As far away from the red stuff as possible"

jlhredshift · #39 (**permalink**) 11-July-2008, 04:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grashtel

My guess is the answer would be something along the lines of "As far away from the red stuff as possible"

When I was ten and my father was teaching me to fly his Piper Tri-pacer we were crossing Lake Michigan and I said "Does the motor sound OK" to which he responded "It always goes on automatic ruff when you are beyond gliding back to shore. Don't worry about it".

aurora · #40 (**permalink**) 01-August-2008, 09:40 PM

Images of a couple of small explosions, see the entry for July 31:

http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/update/images.html

One was at the ocean entry, the other at Pu'u O'o. Debris was scattered over 100 yards.

aurora · #41 (**permalink**) 30-March-2009, 05:44 PM

It's been quite awhile since I posted any updates to this thread.

Two areas of activity continue on Kilauea. There is the ongoing Pu'u O'o eruption, where degassing continues at Pu'u O'o, and then lava is flowing mostly through a tube system to the coast. Meanwhile, at the summit, there has been a plume and a new crater for quite awhile now. The molten material is close to the surface in Halemaumau, and I keep expecting that there will be a surface flow in the summit crater. So far, no, but active material is not very deep, so any sort of temporary clogging of the rift zone would probably quickly cause a summit flow.

http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hvo/activi...aueastatus.php

Quote:

Past 24 hours at Kilauea summit: FLIR views into the cavity below the Halema`uma`u Crater floor yesterday showed that the period of the lava surface rising and falling in the conduit below shortened to every 3-4 minutes. Last night, the brightest glow of 2009 (so far) was recorded by a webcams directly over the cavity and another at HVO. This morning, a white plume is moving to the southwest and is barely visible through fog.

Swift · #42 (**permalink**) 30-March-2009, 06:09 PM

aurora,
Did you happen to watch the program last night on PBS about Kilauea? Pretty near stuff. They did some FLIR views from a helicopter and you could see the lava tube system.

aurora · #43 (**permalink**) 30-March-2009, 06:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swift

aurora,
Did you happen to watch the program last night on PBS about Kilauea? Pretty near stuff. They did some FLIR views from a helicopter and you could see the lava tube system.

I did watch it. That show, combined with today's update about the lava rising and falling within the summit crater was what made me think to put an update onto this thread.

It was an episode of Nature, so they spent about as much time on the insect life in the kipukas and in lava tubes as they did on the geology. But it had some great video and they did show the use of some advanced sensing devices, which was pretty neat.

They also showed a water spout next to the ocean entry, caused by the hot steam. I have some pictures and maybe a short video I took last year at the summit of a small tornado that was caused by a combination of the hot gases coming from the summit crater and a passing rain shower. I should dig that out and post it and link to it here.

Meanwhile, I keep waiting to see what is going to happen next. I keep expecting the eruption to move back from the SE rift zone to the summit. but Madame Pele seems to be in no hurry to end the SE rift eruption that has been going on pretty much since the 1980's.

aurora · #44 (**permalink**) 02-June-2009, 02:06 AM

The flow from the east rift zone shut off over the weekend, and the glow in the summit crater got brighter.

Quote:

Activity Summary for past 24 hours: DI inflation started yesterday afternoon. Overnight, glow from the Halema`uma`u vent was the brightest yet in 2009. Lava from east rift zone vents paused and is no longer flowing through tubes nor supplying active surface flows anywhere on the TEB flow field. Sulfur dioxide emission rates from the Halema`uma`u and Pu`u `O`o vents remain elevated.

Past 24 hours at Kilauea summit: A molten lava pool is present within the summit eruptive vent, below the floor of Halema`uma`u Crater; last night, the glow produced by the pool was the brightest observed since November 2008.

A brown plume was reported yesterday at 3:01 pm accompanied by a small seismic event. This event and at least two others reported over the weekend produced an increase, but still small, amount of tephra over the weekend; about a third of the material produced is fresh spatter bits.

http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/

aurora · #45 (**permalink**) 02-June-2009, 03:52 PM

Here is a webcam image of the summit caldera, taken from the Volcano Observatory roof on the rim of Kiluaea. The bright glow is the lava near the surface under the active vent in Halemaumau.

webcam image

It is posted to another web site, because the HVO webcam has this habit of updating ever few minutes. :-)

aurora · #46 (**permalink**) 02-June-2009, 05:35 PM

As far as I know, the last time there was lava at the surface in the caldera was 1982, and the last time in Halemaumau was 1974.

Due to the brightness overnight, I'll be interested to see what the daily update says when they post it today.

thoth II · #47 (**permalink**) 02-June-2009, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aurora

As far as I know, the last time there was lava at the surface in the caldera was 1982, and the last time in Halemaumau was 1974.

Due to the brightness overnight, I'll be interested to see what the daily update says when they post it today.

I drove around the road that goes around the summit and saw this caldera in 2004. I wonder if they will have to close that road if it starts erupting out of that summit caldera?

Gillianren · #48 (**permalink**) 02-June-2009, 07:42 PM

Given Hawaii, the volcano might handle closing the road by itself.

aurora · #49 (**permalink**) 02-June-2009, 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thoth II

I drove around the road that goes around the summit and saw this caldera in 2004. I wonder if they will have to close that road if it starts erupting out of that summit caldera?

The eastern half of the road around the caldera has been closed since the vent opened in Halemaumau. From the visitor center you can only go east as far as the observatory, and on the west, you can drive around until the intersection with chain of craters road. So crater rim drive has been closed between chain of craters road and the volcano observatory. This closure is due to the fumes from the new vent.

Today's update says:

Quote:

Activity Summary for past 24 hours: Overnight, glow from the Halema`uma`u vent continues to get brighter. Lava from east rift zone vents has resumed flow through tubes to the coast and is entering the ocean at one location west of Kalapana. Sulfur dioxide emission rates from the Halema`uma`u and Pu`u `O`o vents remain elevated.

http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hvo/activi...aueastatus.php

Since the laval flow has resumed to the East, then I would guess that the lava won't get higher in the caldera in the near future.

It looks like the inflation of the summit is leveling off.

http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/update/deformation.html

But everything is dependent on what Madame Pele decides to do next.

aurora · #50 (**permalink**) 22-June-2009, 09:56 PM

Update: I visited Kiluaea earlier this month, and pictures and a couple short videos of the summit activity are now posted online.

The surface of the lava is beneath the vent, so although the lava is not flowing into the floor of the caldera, the glow from the lava was quite impressive.

Halemaumau activity in June 2009

Today's update from the HVO says:

Quote:

Past 24 hours at Kilauea summit: Molten lava is present in the neck of a funnel-shaped cavity in the floor of Halema`uma`u Crater and is most visible at dusk and dawn in our Halema`uma`u Overlook webcam; when weather allows, glow from the lava has been visible to the naked eye from the Jaggar Museum since the end of May. The lava level has been variable apparently rising several meters for brief periods before returning to depths around 290 m (950 ft) below the Halema`uma`u Crater rim webcam.

Gillianren · #51 (**permalink**) 23-June-2009, 12:10 AM

Have I mentioned how much I love the sound of the Hawaiian language?

aurora · #52 (**permalink**) 23-June-2009, 12:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gillianren

Have I mentioned how much I love the sound of the Hawaiian language?

Not that I recall. But I like it too, lots of vowels and the glottal stops (which I frequently forget to indicate when I write Hawaiian words).

dgavin · #53 (**permalink**) 23-June-2009, 01:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aurora

Update: I visited Kiluaea earlier this month, and pictures and a couple short videos of the summit activity are now posted online.

The surface of the lava is beneath the vent, so although the lava is not flowing into the floor of the caldera, the glow from the lava was quite impressive.

Halemaumau activity in June 2009

Excelent Pictures! Thank you for sharing them with those of us mainlander volcano fans.

Off Topic, but did you get to the Keck Observatories to?

aurora · #54 (**permalink**) 23-June-2009, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dgavin

Off Topic, but did you get to the Keck Observatories to?

Not this time, but I have been there before. I've gone to the visitor center at the 9000 foot level a couple of times. Once a month (it used to be first Saturday) one of the astronomers gives a public talk which is then followed by a star party.

One time, the weather was perfect (60 degrees, no wind, completely clear skies) and some amateur astronomers from Hilo and Kona had brought their telescopes (in addition to the ones that the visitor center has). After the first hour or so of viewing, almost all the tourists left. So there I was, with a few dedicated amateurs who had wonderful large telescopes and were happily willing to point them at whatever I wanted to look at! Heaven.

That time I had only brought my binoculars. I do have an old short tube refractor that I take on trips sometimes, but that night I didn't miss it at all!

Torsten · #55 (**permalink**) 26-June-2009, 05:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aurora

Heaven.

Sounds like it!

aurora · #56 (**permalink**) 01-July-2009, 09:16 PM

Today's update:

Quote:

Past 24 hours at Kilauea summit: At 1:38 PM (Hawaiian Standard Time) Tuesday afternoon, a large collapse within the summit vent occurred, resulting in a loud booming sound heard across the caldera area, shaking that could be felt at the Jaggar Museum, generation of a dark brown plume, ejection of ash and lapilli, a very-long-period seismic signal, and an inflationary tilt offset. The initial collapse destabilized the vent, and for the next 3 hours numerous additional collapse signals were recorded by seismometers, some of which resulted in shaking that was again noted at the Jaggar Museum. Between 2:30 PM and 3:30 PM, a portion of the floor of Halemaumau Crater collapsed, enlarging the west rim of the summit vent.

Following the collapses, summit tremor dropped to low levels, and gas-rushing sounds from the vent ceased completely. As darkness fell Tuesday night, no glow was visible form the summit vent. Webcam views into the vent were completely dark throughout the night. The vent appears to be chocked with debris from Tuesday afternoon's collapses.

aurora · #57 (**permalink**) 04-July-2009, 12:43 AM

Today's update:

Quote:

Past 24 hours at Kilauea summit: After being buried by rubble from a series of vent collapses on Tuesday, June 30, lava has reappeared in the vent at Kilauea's summit, probably consuming the rubble as it worked its way back to the surface. Last night, geologists on the rim of Halema`uma`u Crater could see a small ponded lava surface and weak spattering deep within the vent. Gas rushing sounds were constant. The lava was visible through the night on the Webcam perched on the rim of Halema`uma`u Crater above the vent.

aurora · #58 (**permalink**) 03-September-2009, 03:12 PM

Waiting for today's update to be posted by the Volcano Observatory. Overnight, a summit inflation cycle continued longer than typical.

http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/update/deformation.html

Waiting to see what will happen.

Yesterday, the lava was continuing to flow from the east rift zone, and the plume at the summit was strong. This is typical for the recent past.

Here is what they said in yesterday's update:

Quote:

The DI event that started yesterday is ongoing. The network of tiltmeters around the summit of Kilauea recorded the switch from DI deflation to DI inflation at about 2 PM yesterday. Surprisingly, rapid inflation continues to steadily climb this morning. The inflation phase of most recent DI events has usually slowed and leveled off by now.

The update for today (Thursday) has now been posted:

Quote:

Activity Summary for past 24 hours: DI inflation continued into Thursday morning, and strong glow was visible from the Halema`uma`u Overlook vent after dark. Sulfur dioxide emission rates from the Halema`uma`u and east rift zone vents remain elevated. Lava from the TEB vent, on the east rift zone, flows through tubes to the Waikupanaha ocean entry west of Kalapana. Surface flows are active on the pali in the area of the Royal Gardens subdivision.

Past 24 hours at Kilauea summit: The strongest glow in several weeks was visible overnight from the Halema`uma`u Overlook vent, with the previously observed incandescent hole within the vent fluctuating wildly in intensity. Observations made Wednesday afternoon with an infrared camera revealed two hot, gas-emitting holes within the vent. Gas rushing sounds were obvious, and several rock falls were heard. As viewed from HVO on Thursday morning, the plume is blowing to the southwest, and is wispier than it has been on previous days. The most recent sulfur dioxide emission rate measurement on September 2 was 1200 tonnes/day, which is well above the 2003-2007 average of 140 tonnes/day.

Although the switch to DI inflation occurred Tuesday afternoon, strong inflation persisted until Thursday morning, when the summit tiltmeter network finally began to show a leveling off. This DI inflation persisted much longer, and was much larger in magnitude, than is usual for such events. The GPS network, which is less sensitive than the tiltmeter network, shows a minor amount of extension across the summit since mid-August.

Seismic tremor decreased slightly through Wednesday afternoon and as of Thursday morning is lower than levels of the past week. The number of RB2S2BL earthquakes continued to increase through Wednesday night, but has dropped slightly from these high levels as of Thursday morning. Ten earthquakes were located beneath the summit of Kilauea in the past day, all occurring between 10 AM and 10 PM Wednesday.

aurora · #59 (**permalink**) 04-September-2009, 08:54 PM

Update: The inflation leveled off, and although there was more glow overnight than recently, no lava reached the surface at the summit.

So, back to watching and waiting for the next change in the eruption....

aurora · #60 (**permalink**) 30-September-2009, 08:18 PM

A little bit of summit excitement last night:

Quote:

Activity Summary for past 24 hours: A lava pond rose and fell within the summit vent overnight, generating glow visible in webcams. Sulfur dioxide emission rates from the Halema`uma`u and east rift zone vents remain elevated. Lava effusion from the TEB vent (east rift zone) has resumed above the pali, but the Waikupanaha ocean entry is still inactive.

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