Kilauea Daily Update for 9/13/07

Current Kilauea status from HVO:

Kilauea Daily Update issued Sep 13, 2007 09:46 HST Volcanic-Alert Level WATCH – Aviation Color Code ORANGE
Report prepared by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO):

Activity Summary: The 7/21 eruption continues to supply an open lava channel that overflowed at several points within 1 km (0.6 mile) of the vent in the last day, producing several small flows, all less than 1 km (0.6 miles) in length. The `a`a flow along the southern margin is currently the most visible point of growth since the last report, and continues to show minor expansion near and northeast of Kupaianaha.

Hazard Summary: There are no immediate threats directly from lava flows. A publication detailing the current and potential future hazards posed by this eruption is available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1264/.

Vent areas are hazardous and conditions can change rapidly. Access to the 7/21 eruption site in the Kahauale`a Natural Area Reserve is closed (see http://www.state.hi.us/dlnr/chair/pio/HtmlNR/07-N076.htm). Lava flows advancing through vegetation are hazardous and can produce fire and methane explosions that propel chunks of lava and rock several feet into the air.

Last 24 hours at 7/21 eruption site: The vent continued to supply a full and active lava channel about 1 km (0.6 miles) long. Channel overflows produced scattered small flows and toes of lava to the north, all less than a few hundred meters (several hundred feet) in length. The heightened near-vent activity has effectively captured the supply and stalled advancement of the most easterly (distal) end of the flowfield. The current effusion is producing minor lobe advancements only to the east and south margins, near Kupaianaha. The recent flow activity continues to contribute to the thickness and breadth of the flow field, but not its length.

Last 24 hours at Pu`u `O`o crater: The webcam continues to show lots of fume by day but no incandescence overnight. The tiltmeter on the north flank of Pu`u `O`o shows slow steady deflation, losing 0.8 microradians since yesterday’s update. Seismic tremor levels remain low.

Last 24 hours at Kilauea summit: Kilauea’s summit tilt is continuing a trend of slow deflation, losing 0.6 microradians. Summit seismicity remains low. Just a few small earthquakes were recorded on the volcano’s south flank.

Kilauea Daily Update for 9/12/07

Current Kilauea status from HVO:

Kilauea Daily Update issued Sep 12, 2007 09:20 HST Volcanic-Alert Level WATCH – Aviation Color Code ORANGE
Report prepared by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO):

Activity Summary: The 7/21 eruption continued to supply an open channel; the channel overflowed at several points within 1 km (0.6 mile) of the vent, producing several small flows, all less than 1 km (0.6 miles) in length. The `a`a flow along the southern margin has become somewhat more active since the last report, but showing only minor advancement near Kupaianaha.

Hazard Summary: There are no immediate threats directly from lava flows. A publication detailing the current and potential future hazards posed by this eruption is available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1264/.

Vent areas are hazardous and conditions can change rapidly. Access to the 7/21 eruption site in the Kahauale`a Natural Area Reserve is closed (see http://www.state.hi.us/dlnr/chair/pio/HtmlNR/07-N076.htm). Lava flows advancing through vegetation are hazardous and can produce fire and methane explosions that propel chunks of lava and rock several feet into the air.

Last 24 hours at 7/21 eruption site: The vent continued to supply a full and active lava channel about 1 km (0.6 miles) long. Channel overflows produced scattered small flows to the north, all less than a few hundred meters (several hundred feet) in length. Yesterday, a field crew reported that the backup at the Fissure D1 vent, reported that morning effectively buried the D2 source before the obstruction that caused backup cleared. The heightened near-vent activity has effectively stalled advancement of the most easterly (distal) end of the flowfield and is currently producing minor lobe advancements only to the east and south, near Kupaianaha. The recent flow activity continues to contribute to the thickness and breadth of the flow field, but not its length.

Last 24 hours at Pu`u `O`o crater: The webcam continues to show lots of fume by day but no incandescence overnight. The tiltmeter on the north flank of Pu`u `O`o shows slow steady deflation, losing 0.3 microradians since yesterday’s update. Seismic tremor levels remain low.

Last 24 hours at Kilauea summit: Kilauea’s summit tilt is continuing a trend of slow deflation. Summit seismicity remains low. One small earthquake was recorded on the volcano’s south flank.

Kilauea Daily Update for 9/11/07

Current Kilauea status from HVO:

Kilauea Daily Update issued Sep 11, 2007 09:08 HST Volcanic-Alert Level WATCH – Aviation Color Code ORANGE
Report prepared by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO):

Activity Summary: The 7/21 eruption continued to supply an open channel; the channel overflowed at several points within 1 km of the vent. Several `a`a flows less than 1 mile long issued from the channel end. The `a`a flow along the southern margin is still active but no longer advancing.

Hazard Summary: There are no immediate threats directly from lava flows. A publication detailing the current and potential future hazards posed by this eruption is available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1264/.

Vent areas are hazardous and conditions can change rapidly. Access to the 7/21 eruption site in the Kahauale`a Natural Area Reserve is closed (see http://www.state.hi.us/dlnr/chair/pio/HtmlNR/07-N076.htm). Lava flows advancing through vegetation are hazardous and can produce fire and methane explosions that propel chunks of lava and rock several feet into the air.

Last 24 hours at 7/21 eruption site: The vent continued to supply an active lava channel about 1 km (0.6 miles) long. Channel overflows within 1 km (0.6 mile) of the vent occurred several times yesterday starting at 11:00, producing several small northward flows, all of less than a few hundred meters in length. Just before dawn today, a breakout occurred directly at the vent, sending a small flow to the south. We’re watching this one. The `a`a flow along the southern margin is still active but no longer advancing. The recent flow activity continues to contribute to the thickness and breadth of the flow field, but not its length.

Last 24 hours at Pu`u `O`o crater: The webcam again showed the standard – lots of fume by day but no incandescence overnight. The tiltmeter on the north flank of Pu`u `O`o cone finished off the 5th DI (deflation-inflation) event by showing a flattening out of tilt, and has now returned to the slow deflationary trend it had prior to the event. Seismic tremor levels remain low.

last 24 hours at Kilauea summit: The 5th DI event is over, Kilauea summit tilt has turned around and resumed graceful deflation. Summit seismicity has remained low since the end of the DI event. Only a few tiny events occurred in the Southwest Rift Zone and south flank.

Kilauea Daily Update for 9/6/07

Current Kilauea status from HVO:

Kilauea Daily Update issued Sep 6, 2007 09:15 HST Volcanic-Alert Level WATCH – Aviation Color Code ORANGE
Report prepared by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO):

Activity Summary: The 7/21 fissure eruption continued to supply an open, full channel which fed an `a`a flow slowly advancing along the southern margin of previous flows. The lower, or northeastern, portion of the channel overflowed almost continuously last night.

Hazard Summary: There are no immediate threats directly from lava flows. A publication detailing the current and potential future hazards posed by this eruption is available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1264/.

Vent areas are hazardous and conditions can change rapidly. Access to the 7/21 eruption site in the Kahauale`a Natural Area Reserve is closed (see http://www.state.hi.us/dlnr/chair/pio/HtmlNR/07-N076.htm). Lava flows advancing through vegetation are hazardous and can produce fire and methane explosions that propel chunks of lava and rock several feet into the air.

last 24 hours at 7/21 eruption site: The vent continues to supply an active lava channel about 1 km long. That channel persistently overflowed along its lower, northeast half. The `a`a flow moving northeast may have stalled although sporadic burning continued. The `a`a flow advancing along the southern margin of previous flows continued. At 4:30 am, a section of the channel may have collapsed releasing lava advancing to the north that is now estimated less than 1 km (0.6 miles) long.

last 24 hours at Pu`u `O`o crater: The webcam again showed lots of fume by day but no incandescence overnight. The tiltmeter on the north flank of Pu`u `O`o cone recorded slow deflation. Seismic tremor levels are at low values except beneath Pu`u `O`o where the levels are about half those measured before 6/17. The tremor levels nearest Pu`u `O`o have been increasing slowly since the DI event a few days ago.

last 24 hours at Kilauea summit: The tilt network recorded deflation. Seismic tremor levels are at low values but have been slowly increasing after the DI tilt event a few days ago. An unusually small number of earthquakes were located beneath Halema`uma`u crater and the south flank.

Kilauea Daily Update for 9/4/07

Current Kilauea status from HVO:

Kilauea Daily Update issued Sep 4, 2007 08:44 HST Volcanic-Alert Level WATCH – Aviation Color Code ORANGE
Report prepared by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO):

Activity Summary: The 7/21 fissure eruption continued to supply an open channel which, in turn, fed two `a`a flows – one advancing to the northeast over previous flows and the other advancing along the southern margin of previous flows. The summit and Pu`u `O`o recorded the inflation portion of a DI (deflation-inflation) tilt event starting mid-afternoon yesterday.

Hazard Summary: There are no immediate threats directly from lava flows. A publication detailing the current and potential future hazards posed by this eruption is available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1264/.

Vent areas are hazardous and conditions can change rapidly. Access to the 7/21 eruption site in the Kahauale`a Natural Area Reserve is closed (see http://www.state.hi.us/dlnr/chair/pio/HtmlNR/07-N076.htm). Lava flows advancing through vegetation are hazardous and can produce fire and methane explosions that propel chunks of lava and rock several feet into the air.

last 24 hours at 7/21 eruption site: The vent continues to supply an active lava channel about 1 km long. Two flows issue from the lower end of that channel: a spillover fed an `a`a flow moving northeast and 2-3 seeps on the south side fed an `a`a flow advancing along the southern margin of previous flows. The lower section of channel overflowed infrequently.

last 24 hours at Pu`u `O`o crater: The webcam again showed lots of fume but no incandescence. The tiltmeter on the north flank of Pu`u `O`o cone turned around and recorded slow inflation about 1.5 hours after an abrupt tilt reversal at Kilauea summit. Seismic tremor levels are at low values except beneath Pu`u `O`o where the levels are at moderate values. Rockfall seismic signals have decreased in frequency since yesterday afternoon.

last 24 hours at Kilauea summit: The tilt network recorded the expected abrupt inflation starting at 3:10 pm. Seismic tremor levels have returned to low values. A few small deeper earthquakes were located beneath the southwest rift zone and the south flank.

Kilauea Daily Update for 8/30/07

Current Kilauea status from HVO:

Kilauea Daily Update issued Aug 30, 2007 08:58 HST Volcanic-Alert Level WATCH – Aviation Color Code ORANGE
Report prepared by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO):

Activity Summary: The 7/21 fissure eruption continued to feed an open channel which overflowed again this morning. Sproadic burning is occurring around the edges of flow 6 which continues to advance. Kilauea summit and Pu`u `O`o are in the inflation phase of the third deflation-inflation (DI) tilt event in two weeks.

Hazard Summary: There are no immediate threats directly from lava flows.

Vent areas are hazardous and conditions can change rapidly. Access to the 7/21 eruption site in the Kahauale`a Natural Area Reserve is closed (see http://www.state.hi.us/dlnr/chair/pio/HtmlNR/07-N076.htm). Lava flows advancing through vegetation are hazardous and can produce fire and methane explosions that propel chunks of lava and rock several feet into the air.

last 24 hours at 7/21 eruption site: Fissure D continued to supply lava to an open channel about 750 m (0.5 miles) long. The channel overflowed at least once overnight but still feeds flow 6. Sporadic burning is occurring around the edges of the flow.

last 24 hours at Pu`u `O`o crater: The webcam again showed lots of fume but no incandescence overnight. Over the last two days, there have been several collapses within the crater, most of them small and only detectable on seismometers. The tiltmeter on the north flank of Pu`u `O`o cone recorded slowing deflation in response to rapid inflation at the summit – the last part of the third DI tilt event since 8/17. Seismic tremor levels generally declined slightly at Pu`u `O`o and nearby areas.

last 24 hours at Kilauea summit: Summit monitoring instruments recorded rapid inflation and decreased seismic tremor levels starting at about 7:20 pm indicating the final phase of another DI tilt event. A few small earthquakes were located beneath Halema`uma`u crater and the south flank; several deep earthquakes were located beneath the lower southwest rift zone.

Maps, photos, webcam views, and other information about Kilauea Volcano are available at http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/Kilauea/

Earthquakes located within the past two weeks can be found at http://tux.wr.usgs.gov/

A definition of alert levels can be found at http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/2006/warnschemes.html

Kilauea Daily Update for 8/29/07

Current Kilauea status from HVO:

Kilauea Daily Update issued Aug 29, 2007 08:42 HST Volcanic-Alert Level WATCH – Aviation Color Code ORANGE
Report prepared by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO):

Activity Summary: The 7/21 fissure eruption produced `a`a lava flow #6 early yesterday that advanced along the north edge of previous flows and continued to burn forest through this morning. Kilauea summit and Pu`u `O`o are in the deflation phase of the third deflation-inflation (DI) tilt event in two weeks.

Hazard Summary: There are no immediate threats directly from lava flows.

Vent areas are hazardous and conditions can change rapidly. Access to the 7/21 eruption site in the Kahauale`a Natural Area Reserve is closed (see http://www.state.hi.us/dlnr/chair/pio/HtmlNR/07-N076.htm). Lava flows advancing through vegetation are hazardous and can produce fire and methane explosions that propel chunks of lava and rock several feet into the air.

last 24 hours at 7/21 eruption site: Fissure D continued to supply lava to an open channel that was shortened to about 750 m (0.5 miles) by a blockage. The lava level in the channel has risen to near its previous level in the channel after receding early Monday. The channel still feeds `a`a flow 6 and some overflows. Flow 6 has advanced along the northern edge of previous flows and continued to burn forest.

last 24 hours at Pu`u `O`o crater: The webcam again showed lots of fume but no incandescence overnight. Many alert webcam viewers noticed new ‘adornments’ on the webcam views. Those are particles of mud that were flung out of the crater during one of two collapses yesterday morning around 06:30. The tiltmeter on the north flank of Pu`u `O`o cone recorded accelerating deflation in response to rapid deflation at the summit – the start of the third DI tilt event since 8/17. In the midst of the accelerating deflation, Pu`u `O`o tilt did a short reversal just after noon coinciding with a 3.5 hour tremor burst. Otherwise, seismic tremor levels were low at nearby areas but remained at a moderate values at Pu`u `O`o.

last 24 hours at Kilauea summit: Summit tiltmeters recorded rapid deflation and increased seismic tremor levels starting at about 5 pm indicating the beginning of another DI tilt event. About 8 small earthquakes were located beneath Halema`uma`u crater; a few others were located to the north and west of the summit area and beneath the south flank area.

Kilauea Daily Update for 8/28/07

Current Kilauea status from HVO:

Kilauea Daily Update issued Aug 28, 2007 06:44 HST Volcanic-Alert Level WATCH – Aviation Color Code ORANGE
Report prepared by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO):

Activity Summary: The 7/21 fissure eruption continued to supply an open channel that no longer overflows but still seems to feed lava flows to the northeast. Flow 4 continued to burn forest occasionally. A new narrow flow has advanced along the north edge of previous flows and entered the forest early this morning.

Hazard Summary: There are no immediate threats directly from lava flows.

Vent areas are hazardous and conditions can change rapidly. Access to the 7/21 eruption site in the Kahauale`a Natural Area Reserve is closed (see http://www.state.hi.us/dlnr/chair/pio/HtmlNR/07-N076.htm). Lava flows advancing through vegetation are hazardous and can produce fire and methane explosions that propel chunks of lava and rock several feet into the air.

last 24 hours at 7/21 eruption site: Fissure D continued to supply lava to an open channel. The lava level in the channel is still lower than it has been in the last few days but it is still flowing. A new lava flow emerged from the end of the channel after midnight and advanced along the north edge of previous flows into the forest before dawn burning some forest.

last 24 hours at Pu`u `O`o crater: The webcam again showed lots of fume but no incandescence overnight. The tiltmeter on the north flank of Pu`u `O`o cone recorded slow deflation of a source to the southeast beneath the crater. Seismic tremor levels were low at nearby areas but remained at a moderate values at Pu`u `O`o.

last 24 hours at Kilauea summit: Summit tiltmeters recorded slow deflation. Seismic tremor levels were at low values. A few small earthquakes were located beneath Halema`uma`u crater and the south flank area.

Kilauea Daily Update for 8/27/07

Current Kilauea status from HVO:

Kilauea Daily Update issued Aug 27, 2007 08:10 HST Volcanic-Alert Level WATCH – Aviation Color Code ORANGE
Report prepared by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO):

Activity Summary: The 7/21 fissure eruption continued to supply an open channel that was overflowing continuously on both sides until its surface started to recede after midnight; flow 4 continued to advance slowly northeastward. Burning and smoldering continued at the forest edge immediately north of the activity.

Hazard Summary: There are no immediate threats directly from lava flows.

Vent areas are hazardous and conditions can change rapidly. Access to the 7/21 eruption site in the Kahauale`a Natural Area Reserve is closed (see http://www.state.hi.us/dlnr/chair/pio/HtmlNR/07-N076.htm). Lava flows advancing through vegetation are hazardous and can produce fire and methane explosions that propel chunks of lava and rock several feet into the air.

last 24 hours at 7/21 eruption site: Fissure D continued to supply lava to an open channel, now 1.1 km (0.7 miles) long, that continued to overflow from its lower end. An overflight yesterday confirmed that flow 4 has advanced along the north edge of flow 3 and its front is now 5.1 km (3.2 miles) from the vent. After midnight, the lava level in the channel started to recede at the same time a narrow flow advanced along the north edge of flow 4.

last 24 hours at Pu`u `O`o crater: The webcam showed lots of fume but no incandescence overnight. The tiltmeter on the north flank of Pu`u `O`o cone recorded slow deflation of a source to the southeast beneath the crater. Seismic tremor levels were low at nearby areas but remain slightly elevated at Pu`u `O`o.

last 24 hours at Kilauea summit: Summit tiltmeters recorded slow deflation. Seismic tremor levels were at low values. A few small earthquakes were located beneath Halema`uma`u crater and the south flank area.

Kilauea Daily Update for 8/26/07

Current Kilauea status from HVO:

Kilauea Daily Update issued Aug 26, 2007 09:02 HST Volcanic-Alert Level WATCH – Aviation Color Code ORANGE
Report prepared by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO):

Activity Summary: The 7/21 fissure eruption continued to supply an open channel that was overflowing continuously on both sides; it was unclear whether an `a`a flow is still advancing from webcam views. Burning and smoldering continued at the forest edge immediately north of the activity.

Hazard Summary: There are no immediate threats directly from lava flows. Slacking trade winds have redirected the fume from Pu`u `O`o to the north and east, often obscuring the webcams.

Vent areas are hazardous and conditions can change rapidly. Access to the 7/21 eruption site in the Kahauale`a Natural Area Reserve is closed (see http://www.state.hi.us/dlnr/chair/pio/HtmlNR/07-N076.htm). Lava flows advancing through vegetation are hazardous and can produce fire and methane explosions that propel chunks of lava and rock several feet into the air.

last 24 hours at 7/21 eruption site: Fissure D continued to supply lava to an open channel that continued to overflow at a point about 1 km (0.6 miles) from the vent. The overflows have been continuous and have spread along a section of the channel perhaps 200-300 m (600-1,000 feet) long. Some isolated burning could be seen along the flow front this morning.

In the last several weeks, four `a`a flows have started from the open lava channel fed by Fissure D. From the second one, each has advanced along the north edge of the previous one. The first two flows each advanced a similar distance of 6.3 km (4 miles) from the fissure source and are now inactive. AS of 8/24, the fourth flow had extended 3 km (1.9 miles) from the vent.

last 24 hours at Pu`u `O`o crater: When not obscured by fume, incandescence was prominent at night from locations near west vent and east of the east vent. The tiltmeter on the north flank of Pu`u `O`o cone recorded slow deflation of a source beneath the crater. Seismic tremor levels have decreased at nearby areas but remain slightly elevated at Pu`u `O`o.

last 24 hours at Kilauea summit: Summit tiltmeters recorded slow deflation. Seismic tremor levels were at low values. A few small earthquakes were located beneath Halema`uma`u crater and offshore of the Kalapana area. Sulfur Dioxide levels reached a peak of 1,400 ppb (unhealthy starts at 500 ppb) yesterday, probably due to slacked trade winds.