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1 August 2004

Subdued but different

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Left. New lava flow inches along beach at foot of eastern Banana delta. Glow in background comes from point of delta, where small volume of lava plunges into sea. 0525. Right. Entries along northeastern side of delta. 0538.

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Left. Incandescent spots indicate small patches of surface lava in new flow on Banana delta, chaperoned by a nearly full moon. 0531 Right. Only 16 minutes later, western sky develops more color as dawn approaches. Large view shows incandescent spots in new flow. Rope defining edge of visitor viewing area on right. 0547.

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Left. Front of new flow inching along beach below visitor area. Black sand beach is constantly changing with the currents and the activity at the delta. 0554. Right. The first August sunrise, as seen from visitor viewing area. 0600.

2 August 2004

Windy dawning at Banana lava delta

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Left. One of few places this morning where lava enters the ocean. This is just southwest of point of Banana delta, shown in image to right. View is just before sky starts to get very light. 0524. Right. Lava falls continue as sky starts to lighten and dawn approaches. 0539.

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Left. Entry has slackened a bit and is partly hidden by laze. Sunrise is about 10 minutes away. Lae`apuki in distance. 0550. Right. At about sunrise, noddy, flying faster than shutter speed, zips past lone lava cascade. Strong wind shaking tripod prevented good sunrise image. 0558.

3 August 2004

Between showers at Banana lava delta

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Left. Lava falls and cascades just southwest of point of Banana delta, between rain showers. 0548. Right. Broader view with sky backdrop. 0554.

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Left. South wind blows laze across lava delta. Laze plume is generated by lava entering water at point of delta. 0601. Right. Back to lava cascades and falls at sunrise but with cloudy sky. 0604.

4 August 2004

Leaky faucet is all there is

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Left. One drip, smeared out because of slow shutter speed, from lava tube at point of Banana delta. This is only lava to be seen at the delta this morning. 0538. Right. The general view, with no lava but plenty of spray from crashing waves. Compare with views on July 29 and 30. 0544.

5 August 2004

Lava on the pali but not at the coast

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Left. Several incandescent breakouts on Pulama pali (left) and gentle slope below (right). Fume from Pu`u `O`o visible in upper left. 0544. Right. View with longer lens of breakout on steep part of Pulama pali and on gentle slope below pali. 0553.

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Left. Soft early sunrise, looking over Lae`apuki. Dead Banana lava delta is in lower right. 0529. Right. From same place 10 minutes later, sky is more colorful but never reached stardom. 0539.

8 August 2004

Vog plume just before sunrise

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Left. Fume rises from Pu`u `O`o (left) and drifts down the light trade winds. This wide-angle view, taken from Chain of Craters Road just west of Kealakomo, shows fume as it passes in front of distant clouds 30 minutes before sunrise. The fume, a mixture of sulfur dioxide and other volcanic gases, becomes vog as it chemically reacts with other substances, oxidizes, and develops aerosols. 0530. Right. View from same location with longer lens, 10 minutes later, showing uneven concentration of the vog as blows seaward. 0540.

9 August 2004

New flow joins old on Pulama pali

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Left. Predawn view of PKK flow just starting to descend Pulama pali, some 2.8 km east-northeast of Banana flow. The front of PKK flow has been just above top of pali for several months, though it has been stagnant for most of that time. Much of flow was active on August 6, however, all the way to flow front, at that time some 800 m or so above top of pali. View is from east end of park trail to Banana lava delta. 0548. Right. View from same location, showing incandescent surface lava along track of Banana flow. Note the widespread patches, from upper left to lower right and middle. This indicates the complex pattern of breakouts from the Banana lava tube. 0542.

20 August 2004

Limited surface flows above Pulama Pali

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Left. Little has changed in Pu`u `O`o's crater, as lava continues to enter tubes of the Mother's Day and PKK (Kuhio) flows on west and south sides of cone. Right. New collapse pit 8-10 m across developed at MLK vent on south side of Pu`u `O`o; this vent was last active on June 25. Collapse pit exposes lava flows in walls of conduit that fed the June 25 vent; the flows are red hot because of escaping heat up the conduit.

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Left. Bright incandescence of Cookie Monster hornito above Mother's Day lava tube indicates lava still passes through upper reaches of tube. Right. Aerial view of recent PKK (Kuhio) flows at brink of Pulama pali. Shiny surfaces of broad, multi-pronged pahoehoe flows spread across `a`a flows emplaced last week. Pu`u `O`o on horizon.

25 August 2004

Around Pu`u `O`o

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Left. Pu`u `O`o viewed from north edge of flow field. Tops of two cones in West Gap show just right of center. Note fume plume rising from crater. 1040. Right. Collapsing and otherwise deforming area near east edge of Puka Nui. Cracks are forming or enlarging in flank of Pu`u `O`o, and fume rises from unstable, collapsing MLK vent area. 1228.

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Left. Cookie Monster hornito, built atop Mother's Day lava tube southwest of Pu`u `O`o (see map below). Note incandescent hole below center of image. This is same hole as shown in right image. 1243. Right. Sampling gas at Cookie Monster. Note protective clothing, including gloves and gas mask. 1316.

Map of flows from Pu`u `O`o: 24 August 2004

Map shows lava flows erupted during 1983-present activity of Pu`u `O`o and Kupaianaha (see large map).

Shades of red and bright yellow denote Mother's Day flow field, which began erupting on May 12, 2002 and continues to the present. Darkest red indicates lava flows erupted in November 2003-24 August 2004, including the labeled Banana flow, which developed gradually starting in the middle of April. Orange shade denotes MLK flow, erupted in January and, in brief spurts, subsequently. Yellow shade indicates Kuhio (PKK) flow, active most of the time from March 20 to August 24. As of August 24, most activity was located in the Banana flow, fed by the Banana branch of the Mother's Day tube. The PKK flow remains active, too.

Through September and into early October 2003, lava was moving along the east and west sides of the Mother's Day flow. The east-side lava (known as the August 9 breakout) came from the August 9 rootless shield, itself fed by the main Mother's Day tube from Pu`u `O`o. The west side lava, known as the Kohola arm of the Mother's Day flow, branched off the tube system below the rootless shield.

In early October 2003, the August 9 breakout stopped moving, the Kohola died back to a trickle, and the one labeled rootless shield gained prominence. By October 16, however, the shield had partly collapsed, leaving several drained perched ponds behind. Upstream from the shield, many hornitos and small flows formed over the Mother's Day tube. Soon thereafter, other rootless shields began to form over the Mother's Day, August 9, and Kohola tubes.

New vents opened at the southern base of Pu`u `O`o on January 19 and fed Martin Luther King (MLK) flows, which remained active until March 5. Several small vents formed during this time. On March 20, Kuhio (PKK) flow originated from two vents, main one about 250 m south of base of Pu`u `O`o. This flow has remained active most of the time to the August 24 date of this map.

The Banana flow developed from breakouts from the Mother's Day lava tube, centered near the former Banana Tree kipuka. The breakouts become prominent in the middle of April, and lava started down Pulama pali shortly thereafter. This is the time that we assigned the name Banana to the flow.

Vents in West Gap Pit became active in early October, were quiet for 3 weeks, and then resumed intermittent activity that continued well into December. Other vents were also sporadically active in Puka Nui (near West Gap Pit) and in the crater of Pu`u `O`o.

Map of Pu`u `O`o and vicinity: 24 August 2004

Map shows vents, lava flows, and other features near Pu`u `O`o frequently referred to in updates (see large map). These features change often, but this map should help those viewers lost in the terminology. The cones in West Gap are just outside the boundary of the crater--the oval-shaped depression containing the seven numbered vents (now down to 6, as Humble Vent has been buried by a mound of lava flows erupted from Dave's Pit/Vent in March. Red color denotes flows--the Mother's Day flows--erupted since May 12, 2002. Light orange color indicates episode-55 flows erupted between March 1997 and August 2002 (exclusive of Mother's Day flows). Darker orange represents MLK flows; yellow, PKK flow; purple, Puka Nui flow. Vents for these sets of flows shown by indicated symbols. Gray shows flows of earlier episodes.