Hawaii Volcano National Park - Current Update

HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY DAILY UPDATE

Tuesday, March 9, 2010 7:32 AM HST (Tuesday, March 9, 2010 17:32 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 Aviation Color Code: ORANGE
Current Volcano Alert Level: WATCH

Activity Summary for past 24 hours: A magnitude-4.5 earthquake deep beneath Mauna Kea last night did not affect the Kilauea eruption where DI deflation and subdued activity continued at two locations. At the summit, lava was mostly at low levels in a deep pit inset within the floor of Halema`uma`u Crater, and produced weak glow that was visible from the Jaggar Museum. At the east rift zone vents, less lava flowed through tubes and fed fewer scattered surface flows on the pali and the coastal plain. Sulfur dioxide emission rates from both summit and east rift zone vents, however, remained elevated.

Past 24 hours at Kilauea summit: The circulating and spattering lava surface was rarely visible at very low levels in a deep pit inset within the floor of Halema`uma`u Crater; episodic rising and falling continued with the high and low levels significantly lower in the pit than the highs and lows observed during DI inflation. When weather permitted, weak vent glow was visible from the Jaggar Museum Overlook last night.

The summit vent gas plume is moving to the south this morning. The most recent sulfur dioxide emission rate measurement was 900 tonnes/day on March 5, 2010, still elevated above the 2003-2007 average of 140 tonnes/day. Small amounts of mostly ash-sized tephra were lifted out of the deep pit in ascending gases and deposited on nearby surfaces.

The summit tiltmeter network recorded continued DI deflation with a small offset caused by the Mauna Kea quake. Seismic tremor remained at elevated levels and was dominated by episodic tremor bursts corresponding to the rising and falling lava levels in the pit. The number of RB2S2BL earthquakes was within background values. Seven earthquakes beneath Hawai`i Island were strong enough to be located - three beneath the summit area and four on south flank faults.

Past 24 hours at the middle east rift zone vents and flow field: Magma degases through Pu`u `O`o crater before erupting from the TEB vent located 2 km to the east. The most recent sulfur dioxide emission rate measurement was 400 tonnes/day on March 4, 2010, much lower than the 2003-2007 average of 1,700 tonnes/day. No incandescence has been recorded within Pu`u `O`o Crater since February 27.

The tiltmeter on the north flank of Pu`u `O`o recorded continued DI deflation. Seismic tremor levels in the Pu`u `O`o - TEB vent portion of the east rift zone leveled at slightly elevated values. The number of RB2STBL earthquakes remained at background levels.

Lava from the TEB vent flowed through the upper portion of the tube system and fed scattered surface flows on the lower pali and the coastal plain. MODIS and GOES-WEST images contained few weak thermal anomalies suggesting diminished surface flow activity.

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:

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 even 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.

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://volcano.wr.usgs.gov/about/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



Information courtesy of ...
U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO).
USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory
Cascade Range Current Update
USGS Alert-Notification System for Volcanic Activity
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