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Report on Kilauea (United States) — 24 July-30 July 2013


Kilauea

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 24 July-30 July 2013
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2013. Report on Kilauea (United States) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 24 July-30 July 2013. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (24 July-30 July 2013)

Kilauea

United States

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

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


During 24-30 July HVO reported that the circulating lava lake occasionally rose and fell in the deep pit within Kilauea's Halema'uma'u Crater. The plume from the vent continued to deposit variable amounts of ash, spatter, and Pele's hair onto nearby areas. The lake level receded during 25-26 July and was 75 km below the Halema'uma'u Crater floor on 26 July. The inner ledge, a long-time fixture within the vent, started collapsing at 2030 on 25 July; several pieces of the pit wall fell into the lake on both days. The lake level started to rise again and was 65 and 67 m below the crater floor on 28 and 29 July, respectively.

At Pu'u 'O'o Crater, glow emanated from three spatter cones and a small lava pond on the E part of the crater floor. The Kahaualeā€™a 2 lava flow branches, fed by the NE spatter cone, were active as far NE as 3.2 km and as far NW as 2 km, and burned forest in two locations at the N edge of the 1983-1986 'a'a flows from Pu'u 'O'o. Peace Day activity, fed by lava tubes extending from Pu'u 'O'o, consisted of some breakout activity on the pali and coastal plain, and an ocean entry outside of the National Park boundary to the E.

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)