![Lava continues to erupt at a high rate from Fissure 8 and flow within the well established channel to the ocean south of Kapoho. (HVO/USGS)]()
Lava continues to erupt at a high rate from Fissure 8 and flow within the well established channel to the ocean south of Kapoho. (HVO/USGS)
The fissure eruption at Kilauea's Lower East Rift Zone continued without any change throughout the past week. Activity remains focused on Fissure 8 where lava is still erupting at a high rate and then flows within the well established channel to the ocean. Fissures 6, 16/18 and 22 have been intermittently active, showing incandescence and/or lava spattering that at times created small flows.
![This image was captured during the helicopter overflight on June 18, 2018. It shows the growing Halema‘uma‘u crater viewed to the southeast, with HVO and Jagger Museum sitting ...]()
This image was captured during the helicopter overflight on June 18, 2018. It shows the growing Halema‘uma‘u crater viewed to the southeast, with HVO and Jagger Museum sitting on the caldera rim to give a better scale of the ongoing subsidence at the summit. (HVO/USGS)
Kilauea's summit continues to steadily subside in response to the large volume of magma that was drained from beneath the caldera towards the lower East Rift Zone early May. This process is most pronounced around Halema'uma'u crater whose walls are falling in on itself and by now has grown to nearly twice its original width and depth – having partially swallowed the old overlook parking lot. What was once a 12-acre (0,05 square km) lava lake in the middle of the crater has grown to more than 130 acres (0.526 square km), at places up to 300 m (1000 ft) deep, and is getting larger every single day. A preliminary estimate of summit volume loss is around 260 million cubic meters as of June 15th, 2018.
HVO reported that the eruption at Kilauea's Lower East Rift Zone (LERZ) and at Halema`uma`u Crater continued during 20-26 June. Lava fountaining and spatter was concentrated at Fissure 8, feeding lava flows that spread through Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens subdivisions, and built out the coastline where the fast-moving flow entered the ocean in the area of the former Kapoho Bay. Fissure 16/18 was often incandescent, and lava effusion was visible at Fissure 6 on 21 June.
![Photograph showing the inward slumping of Halema‘uma‘u crater rim and walls in response to ongoing subsidence of Kilauea’s summit. This view to the southwest, taken after the ...]()
Photograph showing the inward slumping of Halema‘uma‘u crater rim and walls in response to ongoing subsidence of Kilauea’s summit. This view to the southwest, taken after the explosion that occurred on the morning of 16 June, a section of dark-coloured wall rock (center left) has detached and dropped downward into the crater. (HVO/USGS)
Kilauea's summit caldera continues to subside in response to the withdrawal of magma from beneath the volcano's summit that drains to the Lower East Rift Zone eruption site. The seismic cycle with M5 events and explosions in Halema'uama'u crater also persists, resulting in inward slumping of the crater rim and walls.
Mon, 18 Jun 2018, 07:16
![This photo take during a 17 June, 2018, morning overflight shows a fissure 8 lava fountain pulsing to heights of 50 m (165 ft) within the cinder spatter cone. (HVO/USGS)]()
This photo take during a 17 June, 2018, morning overflight shows a fissure 8 lava fountain pulsing to heights of 50 m (165 ft) within the cinder spatter cone. (HVO/USGS)
Throughout the weekend, Kilauea's lower East Rift Zone eruption persisted to vigorously effusive large amounts of lava from fissure 8 which travelled along the well established 13 km (8 mile) channel to the broad ocean entry at Kapoho.
Read allSun, 17 Jun 2018, 17:30
Fri, 15 Jun 2018, 22:30
Fri, 15 Jun 2018, 14:47
![June 14, 2018, aerial view of the northern margin of the ocean entry where the largest Pāhoehoe breakout area is. Several laze plumes rise along the margin as lava break outs feed ...]()
June 14, 2018, aerial view of the northern margin of the ocean entry where the largest Pāhoehoe breakout area is. Several laze plumes rise along the margin as lava break outs feed many small and large flows. (HVO/USGS)
During day 42 of Kilauea's lower East Rift Zone eruption, lava unabatedly poured out of the vent at fissure 8 and rapidly flowed through the well-established ca 13 km (8 Miles) long channel into the wide ocean entry at Kapoho.
Read allThu, 14 Jun 2018, 14:00
Thu, 14 Jun 2018, 13:51
![Image taken on Tuesday morning June 12, 2018, showing the active perched channel with braided lava flows that is fed by Fissure 8 (fountain visible in the distance). (HVO/USGS)]()
Image taken on Tuesday morning June 12, 2018, showing the active perched channel with braided lava flows that is fed by Fissure 8 (fountain visible in the distance). (HVO/USGS)
Over the past 2 days, Kilauea's eruptive activity in the lower East Rift Zone persisted with little change. Fissure 8 continues to vigorously effuse lava fountains of varying heights, sometimes 10 meter (35 feet) above the growing cone of cinder and spatter which is now about 45 m (140 ft) at its highest point.
Read allThu, 14 Jun 2018, 13:14
![This aerial overview of June 12, 2018, shows the dramatic change that Halema‘uma‘u vent underwent over the past few weeks. The image looks west across the crater, with the form ...]()
This aerial overview of June 12, 2018, shows the dramatic change that Halema‘uma‘u vent underwent over the past few weeks. The image looks west across the crater, with the former Halema‘uma‘u crater floor in the center and the deepest part in the foreground. Ground cracks circumferential to the crater rim can be seen cutting across the parking lot (left). (HVO/USGS)
Day by day, Kilauea's summit caldera continues to subside and Halema'uma'u crater keeps crumbling with every explosive event. Over the past week, such explosions occurred once per day and have been registered as magnitude 5+ earthquakes. They are however not typical earthquakes at all since there is no major fault-rupturing event. Instead, pressure builds up beneath the rubble pile that is choking the conduit and is released as an explosion – a continuous seismic cycle.
Read allWed, 13 Jun 2018, 14:30
Wed, 13 Jun 2018, 06:00
HVO reported that the eruption at Kilauea's Lower East Rift Zone (LERZ) and at Overlook Crater within Halema`uma`u Crater continued during 13-19 June. Lava fountaining and spatter was concentrated at Fissure 8, feeding lava flows that spread through Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens subdivisions, and built out the coastline where the fast-moving flow entered the ocean in the area of the former Kapoho Bay. Minor lava activity at Fissures 16/18 was occasionally noted, and spattering was visible at Fissure 6 on 16 June.
Read allTue, 12 Jun 2018, 15:41
![The three closely spaced lava fountains at fissure 8 are building a cinder-and-spatter cone around the erupting vent through downwind accumulation of lava fragments falling from th ...]()
The three closely spaced lava fountains at fissure 8 are building a cinder-and-spatter cone around the erupting vent through downwind accumulation of lava fragments falling from the fountains. (HVO/USGS)
Kilauea's eruption in the
lower East Rift Zone continues without showing any signs of weakening. The current activity has been sustained for 38 days now, 2 days longer than the last fissure eruption that occurred in this area in 1960. However, compared to the rapid change of activity locations and advancing lava flow fronts, the eruption seems to have geographically settled for the past week.
Read allTue, 12 Jun 2018, 12:30
Mon, 11 Jun 2018, 11:15
Sun, 10 Jun 2018, 11:30
Sat, 9 Jun 2018, 15:15
Sat, 9 Jun 2018, 08:39
![Around 3:00 a.m. HST on June 8, lava fountains erupting from fissure 8 on Kīlauea Volcano's Lower East Rift Zone were reaching heights of 55-65 meters (180–220 feet). (HVO/USGS)]()
Around 3:00 a.m. HST on June 8, lava fountains erupting from fissure 8 on Kīlauea Volcano's Lower East Rift Zone were reaching heights of 55-65 meters (180–220 feet). (HVO/USGS)
The eruption in the lower East Rift Zone remained concentrated on fissure 8, where continuous vigorous lava fountaining fluctuates, at times reaching heights of 70 meters (230 feet). This activity continues to feed the lava channel flowing northeast before turning westward toward Kapoho where it transforms in a very broad lava flow that by now almost entirely covered Kapoho and Vacationland and filled up Kapoho Bay. Sideways moving of this broad Kapoho Bay lava flow creeps north through what remains of Kapoho Beach Lots, but none of the other previously active lobes of the large fissure 8 flows are receiving fresh lava and have hence stalled. Also no other fissures apart from fissure 8 were actively erupting lava in the past few days. The only activity observed was some incandescence from fissure 24 and heavy fuming from fissures 24, 9 and 10 – all located just west of fissure 8.
Read allSat, 9 Jun 2018, 07:44
![This image taken on a mid-day overflight on June 5 shows the ongoing partial collapse of Haleama’uam’u crater at the summit of Kilauea volcano. To the north of the old overlook ...]()
This image taken on a mid-day overflight on June 5 shows the ongoing partial collapse of Haleama’uam’u crater at the summit of Kilauea volcano. To the north of the old overlook parking area (left in the image) is the site of the former lava lake – now a deep hole piled with wall-rock rubble. The western portion of Haleamu’uma’u (upper part of image) has moved down and toward the centre of the crater as new cracks form on the caldera floor to the west. The summit is still subsiding due to withdrawal of magma towards the east rift zone. (HVO/USGS)
Subsidence of Kilauea's summit keeps going on as magma continues to be drained from the summit area towards the active fissure eruption site in the lower East Rift Zone. As much as 9900 earthquakes have been registered on Kilauea over the past 30 days, most of which occurred at the volcano's summit. These events have led to dramatic changes in and around Halema'uma'a crater which for the past 10 years contained an active lava lake. Since the start of the lower East Rift Zone eruption, this lava lake has been systematically drained – leaving behind a large empty vent with unstable walls that partially collapse, creating explosions with large ash plumes. Continuous deflation of the whole summit area and its accompanying earthquakes in turn also destabilise the walls of the Halema'uma'u vent and surrounding crater, resulting in widening of the vent and partial collapse of the crater as its west side is slumping inwards due to the formation of large cracks on the Kilauea caldera floor.
Read allFri, 8 Jun 2018, 13:30
Thu, 7 Jun 2018, 19:45
Thu, 7 Jun 2018, 06:38
![Lava fountaining and active flow to the NE from fissure #8 at Kilauea's lower east rift zone this morning (night in Hawaii)]()
Lava fountaining and active flow to the NE from fissure #8 at Kilauea's lower east rift zone this morning (night in Hawaii)
The activity in the lower east rift zone continues with no significant changes. After a brief episode of declining output of magma from fissure #8 and the contemporary reactivation and lava effusion from a number of other fissures, activity shifted back to fissure #8 which has been the main vent of the rift eruption over the past week.
Read allThu, 7 Jun 2018, 02:30
