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Report on Kilauea (United States) — 23 February-1 March 2022


Kilauea

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 23 February-1 March 2022
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2022. Report on Kilauea (United States) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 23 February-1 March 2022. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (23 February-1 March 2022)

Kilauea

United States

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

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


HVO reported that lava effusion at the vent of the main cone in the lower W wall of Kilauea’s Halema`uma`u Crater continued at variable rates during 22 February-1 March. Effusion from the vent sometimes paused, including from the early afternoon on 23 February to 2115 on 27 February, from 1500 on 26 February to 1000 on 27 February, and again beginning at 0130 on 1 March. When the vent was active lava flowed S and W, into the W part of the lava lake. Lava occasionally oozed out from the margins of the lake. The lake level fluctuated through the week, likely reflecting the lava supply along with periods of inflation and deflation. The Aviation Color Code and the Volcano Alert Level remained at Orange and Watch, respectively.

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)