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Report on Kilauea (United States) — March 1997


Kilauea

Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, vol. 22, no. 3 (March 1997)
Managing Editor: Richard Wunderman.

Kilauea (United States) Lava flows outside of Pu`u `O`o for the first time since 31 January

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 1997. Report on Kilauea (United States) (Wunderman, R., ed.). Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, 22:3. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.BGVN199703-332010



Kilauea

United States

19.421°N, 155.287°W; summit elev. 1222 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Between 11 and 27 March, activity at the Pu`u `O`o vent along Kīlauea's E rift zone was confined to the lava pond within the crater. Pond activity remained sluggish, with periodic resurfacing and localized overturning of the crust. On 21 March, the pond's surface rose to within 84 m of the NE rim of the crater, as indicated by a crusted-solidified shelf on the W floor of the crater, then subsided 14 m to 98 m below the crater rim. Reports of the crater glowing at night were thought to correspond with periods when the level of the pond's surface rose. Fumes emanating from the eruption site remained at low levels.

During these two weeks, the summit of Kīlauea showed 8 µrad of inflationary tilt. In total, the summit recovered 29 µrad of the roughly 30 µrad of summit deflation that occurred on 30 January (BGVN 22:01).

On 28 March, lava was observed outside of the Pu`u `O`o crater for the first time since 31 January. Lava emanated from a collapse pit on the episode 51 shield that flanks the W side of Pu`u `O`o. This lava flowed into a depression to the S before it entered the old tube system, abandoned 30 January, through collapse pits and skylights. The following day, lava was seen flowing through the old tube system at the 2,400-ft (770 m) skylight. Also, the level of the pond in Pu`u `O`o rose to within 52 m of the NE rim, a level comparable to before the 30 January drain-back.

Three substantial lava flows escaped from the lava tube on 3 April. The lowest of the three breakouts fed a surface flow at the 721-m level. This flow progressed to the edge of the flow field and ignited vegetation along its edges as it advanced to elevations as low as 640 m. The next day, geophysical measurements showed that there was no lava flowing through tubes below the 705-m level. Through 7 April, flows repeatedly inflated, advanced, and stagnated.

Shallow, long-period summit earthquakes and earthquakes along the E rift zone remained at high to very high levels.

This latest resumption of activity, designated episode 55 by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, was considered likely to spread flows S over Pulama pali to the coast.

Kīlauea is one of five coalescing volcanoes that comprise the island of Hawaii. Historically its eruptions originate primarily from the summit caldera or along one of the lengthy E and SW rift zones that extend from the summit caldera to the sea. This latest Kīlauea eruption began in January 1983 along the E rift zone. The eruption's early phases, or episodes, occurred along a portion of the rift zone that extends from Napau Crater on the uprift (towards the summit) end to ~8 km E on the downrift (towards the sea) end. Activity eventually centered on what was later named Pu`u `O`o. Between January 1983 and December 1996, erupted lava totaled ~1.45 km3.

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.

Information Contacts: Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO), U.S. Geological Survey, PO Box 51, Hawaii National Park, HI 96718, USA (URL: https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/).