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Report on Kilauea (United States) — 22 September-28 September 2010


Kilauea

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 22 September-28 September 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, 22 September-28 September 2010. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (22 September-28 September 2010)

Kilauea

United States

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

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


During 22-28 September 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 around 160 m below the crater floor; periodically the lava rose 15-35 m above that level. Glow from the vent was also visible at night. A plume from the vent drifted SW and deposited ash nearby. At the east rift zone, lava that flowed through the TEB lava-tube system mainly fed the Puhi-o-Kalaikini ocean entry. Weak thermal anomalies detected in satellite imagery suggested little to no lava flow activity on the pali or the coastal plain. On 26 September lava broke out of the lava-tube system W of the end of Highway 130 and produced a flow E toward Kalapana Gardens. The next day lava, flowing at a slower rate, filled in low areas S of the Hawaii County lava viewing area.

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)