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Report on Kilauea (United States) — 21 October-27 October 2009


Kilauea

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 21 October-27 October 2009
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2009. Report on Kilauea (United States) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 21 October-27 October 2009. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (21 October-27 October 2009)

Kilauea

United States

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

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


During 21-27 October, HVO reported that lava flowed SE from underneath Kilauea's Thanksgiving Eve Breakout (TEB) and rootless shield complex through a lava tube system, reaching the Waikupanaha ocean entry on most days. Thermal anomalies detected in satellite images and visual observations revealed active surface lava flows. For a few days an active lava flow advanced on the coastal plain, burning vegetation and pavement along the former Kalapana access road. Intermittent incandescence was seen from the Pu'u 'O'o crater floor and an East wall vent.

The vent in Halema'uma'u crater continued to produce a diffuse white plume that drifted SW. Incandescence originated from occasionally spattering holes from a surface inside the vent cavity. Preliminary measurements indicated that the sulfur dioxide emission rate at the summit remained elevated; 560-1,400 tonnes per day was measured during 21-22 and 26 October. The 2003-2007 average rate was 140 tonnes per day.

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)