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2 March 2004

Dave's pit vent active inside Pu`u `O`o

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Views are from the north rim of Pu`u `O`o crater. Left. View is toward the south. Lava flow erupted from Dave's pit vent spreads across the crater floor of Pu`u `O`o below the north rim. 1503.  Right. View is toward the southwest. Lava spatters from Dave's pit vent (spatter cone on left) and feeds lava flow spreading across the crater floor. 1240. See map below for location of Dave's pit vent.

5 March 2004

In and out of Pu`u `O`o

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Left. Aerial view looking southwest of two cones at East Pond Vent and, barely visible in fume, incandescent January Vent, all in Pu`u `O`o's crater. Steam comes from recent rain. 0838.  Right. Looking west at incandescent vents in South Wall Complex. Scallop in crater wall above complex is scar left by collapse on March 3. At south base of Pu`u `O`o (near left edge of image) is spattering vent at MLK complex (best seen in large image). In background is Puka Nui gap and, in front of gap, new cone built over Dave's Pit Vent. 0837.

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Left. Aerial view looking southwest over shoulder of Pu`u `O`o onto flow field south of cone. Spattering vent of MLK complex is just left and below center of image. Two different flows are evident, one starting from vent (old lava tube?) downstream from spattering vent, and the other--mostly hidden by fume--farther left. 0837. Right. Clearer view of the two lava flows. Note how each emerges from different vent. Longer flow possibly comes from old lava tube. 0839.

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Left. View of longer lava flow south of Pu`u `O`o. Maximum width of stream, 5-7 m. 1036. Right. Preparing to sample lava at spattering vent of MLK complex--same vent as shown in left image above. 0914.

12 March 2004

East Pond Vent and two MLK vents

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Left. View of both cones at East Pond Vent from east rim of Pu`u `O`o's crater. Part of South Wall Complex is incandescent at base of fume in left center (best seen in large image). Note the small flows that erupted from East Pond Vent onto the smooth floor of a former lava lake. 0926. Right. Two tiny vents, indicated by spatter strewn on flank of Pu`u `O`o, in MLK complex of vents at south base of Pu`u `O`o. These vents were active on March 4 but were responsible for only part of the March 4 flow. Note numerous cracks on cone, some of which emit steam. East margin of Puka Nui at left edge of image. 1045.

19 March 2004

Pu`u `O`o and pahoehoe

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Left. Aerial view looking west-southwest of Pu`u `O`o. East Spillway is nearest part of crater rim. Several vents in crater are fuming. Note incandescence at East Pond Vent (nearest camera) and South Wall Complex (just left of center). West Gap cones (appearing as one) stand tall at far end of crater. 0924. Right. Smooth-surfaced pahoehoe flows override and, apparently, burrow under clinkery top of March 4 `a`a flow. Pahoehoe is fed by breakouts is southeastern part of rootless shield complex. Flowing lava near left center of image. 1155.

21 March 2004

Distant lava flow viewed from Pu`u Huluhulu

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Views from Pu`u Huluhulu of Pu`u `O`o and distant lava flow that started erupting yesterday evening. Note the pinpricks of incandescence at cones in Pu`u `O`o's crater and from 55 cone/vent between crater and active flow. Kane Nui o Hamo, a shield probably 700-1000 yr old, hides most of flow. Left. 0552. Right. 0600.

22 March 2004

Bright glow above flow field as seen from end of Chain of Craters Road. Glow is reflected off fume rising from active flow. Width of glow just above top of Pulama pali is measure of length of flow, which heads obliquely toward camera. Glow likely comes from flow erupted from Puka Nui vent but could also be affected by lava on surface of Amalgamated Bend and Okita rootless shields. A few minutes earlier, glow towered much higher, but fumbling with camera resulted in missed opportunity. 0502.

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26 March 2004

March 20 breakouts and Kuhio flow

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Left. Aerial view showing two of three vent areas active on March 20, during a deflation-inflation-deflation event. Smallest vent is at south base of Pu`u `O`o (center) and is marked by wisp of fume (see right image). Largest vent is broad area 250 m south of Pu`u `O`o; it erupted the shiny, light gray Kuhio flow. 1207. Right. Closer view of small vent active briefly on March 20. Note cracks on south flank of Pu`u `O`o. 0925.

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Left. View upslope showing blue fume that marks trace of Kuhio flow. Fume comes mainly from skylights and thin places in roof of Kuhio lava tube. Pu`u `O`o in distance. 0920. Right. Aerial view of terminus of Kuhio flow (narrow flow coming downslope and fingering out near lower right. Pahoehoe of Kuhio is easily confused with broader expanse of pahoehoe that issued from rootless shield just left of image. 0919.

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Left. Looking down Kuhio flow at skylight in newly developed lava tube. Opening is 1-2 m wide. 1017. Right. Looking up Kuhio flow from site of left image, showing skylight used for sampling lava (lower right image). 1018.

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Left. Looking down Kuhio flow from lava-sampling site (right). 1052. Right. Sampling lava from nearly full tube. Generally sampling device tethered to cable is thrown into tube to retrieve lava, but here the level of lava was so near the surface that only a modified hoe was needed. 1108.

Map of flows from Pu`u `O`o: 22 January 2004

Map shows lava flows erupted during 1983-present activity of Pu`u `O`o and Kupaianaha (see large map). Yellow lava flows began erupting from new vent (green star) at base of Pu`u `O`o on January 18, 2004; it is named the MLK flow.

Shades of red denote Mother's Day flow, which began erupting on May 12, 2002 and continues to the present. Darkest shade indicates lava flows erupted in November 2003-January 2004. Yellow stars indicate centers of recently active, or still active, rootless shields in Mother's Day flow. New shields often form, so it is hard to show all shields on this map.

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. These shields have been active throughout November and December.

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: 26 January 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. Red color denotes flows--the Mother's Day flows--erupted since May 12, 2002. Orange color indicates episode-55 flows erupted between March 1997 and August 2002 (exclusive of Mother's Day flows). Gray shows flows of earlier episodes.