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Report on Kilauea (United States) — 18 April-24 April 2018


Kilauea

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 18 April-24 April 2018
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2018. Report on Kilauea (United States) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 18 April-24 April 2018. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (18 April-24 April 2018)

Kilauea

United States

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

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


During 18-24 April HVO reported that the lava lake continued to rise, fall, and spatter in Kilauea’s Overlook crater. The lake level was high, and by late on 21 April had overflowed the S crater rim. As of midday on 23 April the new flows has covered about 16 ha of the floor, or about 30%. Overflows of the crater rim continued through 24 April, flowing as far as 375 m onto the N, SW, and S parts of the crater floor. HVO noted that the overflows were the first significant ones since May 2015.

Surface lava flows were active above Pulama pali. On 18 April geologists observed the pit crater on the W side of Pu'u 'O'o Crater, noting that overflows had built up the crater rim to several meters above the crater floor and 7 m higher compared to late March.

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)