Report on Kilauea (United States) — 27 October-2 November 2010
Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 27 October-2 November 2010
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 2010. Report on Kilauea (United States) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 27 October-2 November 2010. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.
Kilauea
United States
19.421°N, 155.287°W; summit elev. 1222 m
All times are local (unless otherwise noted)
During 27 October-2 November, HVO reported that activity at Kilauea continued from the summit caldera and the east rift zone. At the summit caldera, the level of the lava-pool surface in the deep pit within Halema'uma'u crater remained mostly stable between 160 and 170 m below the crater floor. Periodically the lava rose a few meters above that level, producing nighttime incandescence seen from the Jaggar Museum, on the NW caldera rim. A plume from the vent drifted SW and deposited ash nearby.
At the east rift zone, lava continued to flow through the TEB lava-tube system and fed two ocean entries at the Puhi-o-Kalaikini delta. On 27 October a small lava flow broke out of the lava tube and was active W of the end of Highway 130. A channelized 'a'a lava flow at the base of the pali began the next day. Lava flows were active on the coastal plain during 29-30 October and 1-2 November. Incandescence was frequently visible from vents on the N part of the Pu'u 'O'o crater floor.
Geological Summary. Kilauea overlaps the E flank of the massive Mauna Loa shield volcano in the island of Hawaii. Eruptions are prominent in Polynesian legends; written documentation since 1820 records frequent summit and flank lava flow eruptions interspersed with periods of long-term lava lake activity at Halemaumau crater in the summit caldera until 1924. The 3 x 5 km caldera was formed in several stages about 1,500 years ago and during the 18th century; eruptions have also originated from the lengthy East and Southwest rift zones, which extend to the ocean in both directions. About 90% of the surface of the basaltic shield volcano is formed of lava flows less than about 1,100 years old; 70% of the surface is younger than 600 years. The long-term eruption from the East rift zone between 1983 and 2018 produced lava flows covering more than 100 km2, destroyed hundreds of houses, and added new coastline.
Source: US Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO)