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Report on Kilauea (United States) — 30 May-5 June 2012


Kilauea

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 30 May-5 June 2012
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2012. Report on Kilauea (United States) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 30 May-5 June 2012. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (30 May-5 June 2012)

Kilauea

United States

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

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


During 30 May-5 June HVO reported that the circulating and spattering lava lake periodically rose and fell in the deep pit within Kilauea's Halema'uma'u Crater, rising as high as the inner ledge about 60 m below the crater floor. Periodic measurements indicated that the gas plume from the vent continued to deposit variable amounts of ash and Pele's hair onto nearby areas. The level of the lava pond in a small pit on the E edge of Pu'u 'O'o crater floor rose back into view. Field geologists observed many lava flows coming down the pali and extending onto the coastal plain. A small new collapse pit in Pu'u 'O'o about 50 m west of the southern spatter cone was observed on 1 June; weak incandescence from this pit was visible in the thermal camera. On 5 June geologists observed a second small collapse pit near the south-central edge that had been covered by a small shield of lava while the lava pond in the E collapse pit had risen to within about 5 m of the rim.

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)