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Report on Kilauea (United States) — August 1990


Kilauea

Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, vol. 15, no. 8 (August 1990)
Managing Editor: Lindsay McClelland.

Kilauea (United States) Continued East Rift lava production; two houses destroyed; three brief eruptive pauses

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 1990. Report on Kilauea (United States) (McClelland, L., ed.). Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, 15:8. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.BGVN199008-332010



Kilauea

United States

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

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Kīlauea's . . . eruption continued through August. Lava from Kupaianaha vent (figure 71) advanced through tubes and entered the ocean along a broad front. Lava breakouts occurred from many parts of the tube system. The resulting flows destroyed one house in Kalapana (and started brush fires that burned another) and built small shield-like features on the upper part of the main tube near the base of Kupaianaha's shield. Three brief pauses in activity were noted, bringing the year's total to nine.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 71. Lava produced by Kīlauea's East rift zone eruption, 1983-90. Arrows indicate paths of recent flows, and crosses mark inflated areas at the base of the Kupaianaha shield. The locations of seismometers STC and KLC are indicated, as is the epicenter of the 8 August earthquake.

Eruptive pause, 30 July-1 August. Most surface activity slowed to a halt on 30 July, although lava flows at the coast showed little evidence of the pause, and by 2 August half of Kaimu beach (figure 70) was covered by lava. The most direct seismic expression of previous eruptive pauses had been the very low amplitude of volcanic tremor registered on seismometers near the vents. Tremor amplitude on the station nearest Kupaianaha (KLC) remained consistently low, but dropped near Pu`u `O`o (at station STC) by about a factor of two to a very quiet background level at about 1200 on 1 August. Background noise at STC remained low for ~12 hours, allowing detection of frequent small bursts of seismicity. Seismologists believed that these might be interpreted as small landslides or other crustal adjustments around Pu`u `O`o while local flow rates were diminished. During the same period of low seismicity on the East rift zone, from about 1200 to 2300 on 1 August, summit volcanic tremor was at high amplitude.

Eruption resumes, 2-8 August. The resumption of eruptive activity on 2 August was marked by a sharp increase in microearthquake activity beneath the summit that began as tremor background suddenly decreased and summit ground tilt sharply increased. The peak of the summit microearthquake swarm was recorded between 1 August at 2300 and 2 August at 0200. Tremor amplitude recorded near Pu`u `O`o gradually increased to levels registered during earlier periods of surface activity. Lava reoccupied the "Woodchip" tube system down to Kalapana. Initial sticky pahoehoe breakouts became more fluid later in the day and began to move down the tube system toward Kaimu. Numerous small breakouts observed in the Kalapana area by 6 August began to cover more land on the perimeter of the flow field. A surface breakout on the 7th advanced W of Kaimu Bay and entered the ocean. The next day, a large breakout below the coast highway quickly began to fill the area between the highway and inflated flows below it, threatening the road.

Eruptive pause, 8-9 August. Another eruptive pause began late 8 August. At the summit, a sharp decrease in ground tilt and a sharp increase in background volcanic tremor were preceded by a vigorous burst of long-period seismicity that began on 8 August at about 2100 and stopped abruptly at about 0400 the next morning. A M 4.9 earthquake was recorded in the East rift zone on 8 August at 1606 (figure 71). Tremor amplitudes registered near Kupaianaha and Pu`u `O`o remained unchanged. By 10 August, activity behind the active ocean entries had diminished, and breakouts along flow margins were viscous and of low volume.

Eruption resumes briefly, 10-12 August. Microearth- quake activity beneath the summit was slightly elevationated during the 24 hours beginning at 0900 on 10 August and a sharp increase in summit tilt was measured the same morning, probably reflecting the resumption of magma and lava movement. The eruption resumed on the 10th, and the next day a large breakout was noted from the "Woodchip" tube at 35 m (120 ft) elevation in the upper part of Kalapana, above some houses that had been spared by earlier flows. By afternoon, lava was 100 m from the nearest home, but the flow front advanced only another 50 m before stagnating on 13 August. That day (13th) several other breakouts were noted in Kalapana along the "Woodchip" tube system.

Third eruptive pause, 12-14 August, and subsequent seismicity. On the morning of 12 August, a sharp drop in summit tilt again coincided with the onset of stronger summit tremor. However, these changes were not preceded by significantly increased long-period seismicity beneath the summit. Tremor amplitudes near Pu`u `O`o decreased during the evening of 13 August, and through much of the next day the reduction in background tremor again made it possible to observe very small discrete events. Summit tilt reversed as inflation resumed during the afternoon of 14 August and tremor amplitude dropped. At about 1500, summit microearthquake activity increased, remaining elevationated through 18 August. Tremor amplitude near Pu`u `O`o gradually increased and by the morning of the 16th had returned to levels comparable to those during obvious surface activity. For much of the rest of the month, summit and East rift zone seismicity fluctuated around low average levels, but microearthquake activity approximately doubled 25-31 August.

Renewed lava production from 15 August. A significant decrease in the volume of lava entering the ocean was noted on 15 August, perhaps a delayed response to the pause. However, lava was attempting to reoccupy the tube system upslope, and a large aa/pahoehoe flow seen at 90 m (300 ft) elevation on 15 August destroyed one of the few houses remaining in Kalapana on the 20th. A large channelized aa flow broke out of the primary Kalapana tube system in the main flow field about 15 August. By the 21st, this flow had reached 50 m (160 ft) elevation but had not turned toward Kalapana. A large surface flow broke out of the "Woodchip" tube in Kalapana on 16 August, and by the 18th had crossed Hwy 130, cutting off access to a home and ranch above the highway.

Activity in Kalapana slowed 21-27 August. Surface flows generally remained on top of earlier lava, with some small breakouts burning vegetation on the edge of the flow field near the end of Hwy 130. Lava continued to enter the ocean along a broad front (between Right Point and the Harry K. Brown Park area). By the 27th, no surface activity was visible in the Kalapana area and only the ocean entry at Right Point remained active. On 28 August, a fluid sheet flow broke out of the "Woodchip" tube (just below Hwy 130) and advanced toward the fault scarp bordering Kalapana Gardens. Five homes isolated by previous flows were between the scarp and the ocean. The flow destroyed one home on the 30th and set off brush fires that burned another; the fires came within a couple of meters of the remaining three homes before going out. Another flow that broke out on 29 August followed the E edge of the former Kalapana Gardens subdivision. By 2 September, the two flows had merged, but were only producing small ooze-outs. The volume of lava entering the ocean then appeared to increase, and by 3 September several entries were active (between Right Point and the former canoe landing).

Near-vent lava breakouts. Activity increased at higher elevations during August. Several fluid pahoehoe flows were noted at the base of Kupaianaha shield on 16 August. The flows continued along the edge of the Kupaianaha flow field, reaching 500 m (1,700 ft) elevation by the 25th. Breakouts from an inflated area at the shield's base were observed the same day. By 2 September, four large inflated areas (marked x on figure 71) had developed over the tube that transports lava from Kupaianaha to 550-580 m (1,800-1,900 ft) elevation. Numerous shelly pahoehoe flows broke out from the inflated areas until they began to resemble small shields. The lava pond at Kupaianaha remained sealed over, but lava was noted in a collapse pit 50-60 m SE of the pond.

Lava ponds in Pu`u `O`o. Three kilometers uprift, two active lava ponds were noted ~75 m below the rim of Pu`u `O`o crater on 22 August. Lava from the E pond was seen overflowing and draining into the W pond on the 28th, producing a large lava river across the crater floor. Throughout the week, observers noted similar activity in the reverse direction, with lava from the W pond overflowing and feeding the E pond. Since 26 August, frequent gas-piston signatures have been recorded by the seismometer nearest Pu`u `O`o, with quiet periods of up to 30 minutes terminated by a strong seismic burst.

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.

Information Contacts: T. Moulds and P. Okubo, HVO.