Hawaii Volcano National Park - Current Update
HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY DAILY UPDATE
Saturday, July 31, 2010 6:20 AM HST (Saturday, July 31, 2010 16:20 UTC)
This report on the status of Kilauea volcanic activity, in addition to maps, photos, and Webcam images (available using the menu bar above), was prepared by the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO). Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park status can be found at http://www.nps.gov/havo/ or 985-6000. Hawai`i County Viewing Area status can be found at 961-8093. All times are Hawai`i Standard Time.
KILAUEA VOLCANO (CAVW #1302-01-)
19°25'16" N 155°17'13" W, Summit Elevation 4091 ft (1247 m)
Current Volcano Alert Level: WATCH
Current Aviation Color Code: ORANGE
Activity Summary for past 24 hours: DI deflation continued and Kilauea eruptive activity continued at two locations. In the east rift zone, lava flowed from the TEB vent through tubes to supply active surface flows in Kalapana that advanced slightly to the north and fed two ocean entries yesterday. The summit eruptive vent within Halema`uma`u Crater hosted a lava pond that produced red glow visible from the Jaggar Museum overnight. Sulfur dioxide emission rates from the summit and east rift zone vents remained elevated.
Past 24 hours at Kilauea summit: The summit tiltmeter network recorded continued DI deflation. Seismic tremor levels were at elevated and variable values, a little bit higher during DI deflation, typical of the last several weeks with the expected drop during lava high stands and the tremor burst while the lava is draining back to previous levels. The network of GPS receivers recorded contraction of the summit between June 16 and July 5 and no net contraction or extension since.
The level of the crusted and circulating lava surface at the bottom of the deep collapse pit inset in the southeast edge of Halema`uma`u Crater was mostly stable with a single 2-hr high stand starting at 5 pm yesterday. The lava lit up the gas plume and, when weather permitted, the glow was visible from the Jaggar Museum Overlook and in the HVO webcam overnight.
Three earthquakes were strong enough to be located beneath Kilauea volcano on south flank faults, including a felt magnitude-3.4 earthquake at 11:13 am yesterday.
The summit gas plume was moving to the southwest this morning. The most recent (preliminary) sulfur dioxide emission rate measurement was 700 tonnes/day on July 28, 2010, still above the 2003-2007 (pre-summit eruption) average of 140 tonnes/day. Ash-sized tephra continued to be wafted within the gas plume and deposited on nearby surfaces.
Past 24 hours at the middle east rift zone vents: The tiltmeter on the north flank of Pu`u `O`o recorded continued DI deflation. GPS receivers on and around Pu`u `O`o cone recorded contraction between June 16 and July 5 and no net contraction or extension since. There was no incandescence recorded by webcam within Pu`u `O`o crater overnight.
The most recent (preliminary) sulfur dioxide emission rate measurement from east rift zone vents was 400 tonnes/day on July 16, 2010, much lower than the 2003-2007 (pre-summit eruption) average of 1,700 tonnes/day but typical of the low rates since early March, 2010.
Past 24 hours in Kalapana: Lava from the TEB vent flowed through tubes that carried lava down-slope to feed active surface flows in two locations on the coastal plain: 1) scattered, small active lobes about 0.9 km (0.6 mi) to the west of the highway 130/137 intersection and 2) several broader lobes continued to advance slowly toward the north; ; residents reported more eastward progress near Hakuma horst overnight; most of the activity visible yesterday was along the two lobes entering the ocean at two locations.
Surface activity continued overnight as suggested by thermal anomalies recorded in MODIS and GOES-WEST imagery overnight. The next Kalapana activity update will be posted by 4:30 pm H.s.t. today.
Kalapana Public Access Information from Hawai`i County Civil Defense: Kalapana Gardens is a private subdivision and access will only be granted to subdivision residents. Private property borders highway 130 through Kalapana and no one is allowed access off the highway easement. Hawai`i County Police will be monitoring the area. Hawai`i County Viewing Area status can be found at 961-8093.
Maps, photos, Webcam views, and other information about Kilauea Volcano are available at http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hvo/activity/kilaueastatus.php. A daily update summary is available by phone at (808) 967-8862.
A map with details of 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/activity/alertsystem/index.php
Definitions of Terms Used:
Hakuma horst: a horst is an section of earth that is raised between two nearly parallel faults so that its surface is higher than the surrounding ground. The Hakuma horst is located along the coast west of Kalapana; it was responsible for diverting lava through Kalapana village in 1990 and appears to be having a similar influence on lava flows in 2010.
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 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 140 m (460 ft) in diameter at the Halema`uma`u Crater floor, is about 50 m in diameter at the pit floor, and is about 200 m (660 ft) deep. As of November, 2009, a lava pond surface has been visible in a hole in the floor of this pit.
glow: light from an unseen source; indirect light.
incandescence: the production of visible light from a hot surface. The term also refers to the light emitted from a hot surface. The color of the light is related to surface temperature. Some surfaces can display dull red incandescence at temperatures as low as 430 degrees Centigrade (806 degrees Fahrenheit). By contrast, molten lava displays bright orange to orange-yellow light from surfaces that are hotter than 900 degrees C (1,650 degrees F).
CD: Hawai`i County Civil Defense
RB2S2BL earthquakes: earthquakes that were recorded but were too small to be located. These quakes have magnitudes less than 1.7 and may only be recorded by one or two seismometers. Recording at a minimum of 4 seismometer sites is required to locate an earthquake.
tonne: metric unit equal to 1,000 kilograms, 2,204.6 lbs, or 1.1 English tons.
tephra: all material deposited by fallout from an eruption-related plume, regardless of size.
ash: tephra less than 2 mm (5/64 inches) in size.
TEB: Thanksgiving Eve Breakout, the designation used for lava flows that started with a breakout on November 21, 2007.
microradian: a measure of angle equivalent to 0.000057 degrees.
DI tilt event: DI is an abbreviation for 'deflation-inflation' and describes a volcanic event of uncertain significance. DI events are recorded by tiltmeters at Kilauea summit as an abrupt deflation of up to a few microradians in magnitude lasting several hours to 2-3 days followed by an abrupt inflation of approximately equal magnitude. The tilt events are usually accompanied by an increase in summit tremor during the deflation phase. A careful analysis of these events suggests that they may be related to changes in magma supply to a storage reservoir at less than 1 km depth, just east of Halema`uma`u crater. Usually, though not always, these changes propagate through the magma conduit from the summit to the eruption site, as many of the DI events at Kilauea summit are also recorded at a tiltmeter at Pu`u `O`o, delayed by 1-2 hours. DI events often correlate with lava pulses and/or pauses in the eruption at the Pu`u `O`o/July 21/TEB vents.
More definitions with photos can be found at http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/images/pglossary/index.php.
The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory is one of five volcano observatories within the U.S. Geological Survey and is responsible for monitoring volcanoes and earthquakes in Hawai`i. Source: Kilauea Volcano Observatory
Kilauea Volcano Cam
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