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8 July 2005

Ocean entries and Pu`u `O`o

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Left. Aerial view of East Lae`apuki lava delta. Largest plume of laze (mostly steam, but including some dilute hydrochloric acid and small glassy particles) is at largest entry site. Other plumes indicate smaller sites. Fume at old sea cliff comes from skylight in feeding lava tube. Right view shows close-up of central part of delta. 0933. Right. Small brown mound of spatter sits astride large crack just left of center of image. Crack probably formed on June 27, when spatter was ejected accompanying a small collapse of front of lava delta. Large view barely shows lava pouring into water in lower left. 0938.

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Left. Looking northeast along Kilauea's south coast, showing East Lae`apuki lava delta (foreground) and weak plume of laze from East Kamoamoa lava delta (just beyond first point beyond East Lae`apuki). 0933. Right. Two spatter cones in West Gap, with northwest end of Pu`u `O`o to left. Photo from northwest edge of flows erupted from West Gap in 2003. 1113.

15 July 2005

East Lae`apuki and East Pond Vent

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Left. East Lae`apuki lava delta, looking west. Large plume of steam, hydrochloric acid, tiny glass bits, and other material rises from a number of entries along leading edge of delta. Blue fume comes from skylight in lava tube that feeds the entries. 0846. Right. Closer view of East Lae`apuki lava delta. White area is salt-encrusted older flow on delta's surface. Shiny flow leading down from skylight is fresh, possibly still active. Note that it partly covers large crack (visible below blue fume); this will provide a good marker for renewed opening of crack. 0845.

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Left. Aerial view of East Pond Vent on floor of Pu`u `O`o's crater. One peak of spatter cone rises at upper edge of vent; other peak is largely hidden by fume about 7-8 o'clock from vent. 0838. Right. Spattering from East Pond Vent. Level of lava pond in vent is higher than it has been in some time, so spattering is readily seen. Bits of spatter recently cleared the rim of the vent and landed on the crater floor. 0950.

19-20 July 2005

East Lae`apuki laze

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Left. Large plume of acidic laze billows from front of East Lae`apuki lava delta. Laze--lava haze--is produced by interaction of hot lava with ocean water. Trade wind carries laze southwestward. View is from Chain of Craters Road on Holei Pali. July 19, 1131. Right. Thick cloud of laze rises from front of East Lae`apuki lava delta. obscuring actual places where lava pours into the sea. View looks southwest across northeastern part of lava delta. July 20, 0736.

22 July 2005

East Lae`apuki to South Wall Complex

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Left. Western park of East Lae`apuki lava delta. Laze plumes rise from points where lava enters water. Blue fume comes from skylights along lava tube feeding ocean entries. In upper left is shiny surface of active east branch of PKK flow. Front of branch is several hundred meters from old sea cliff above delta. 0850. Right. Incandescent roof and sides of hole partly filled with lava, at base of new collapse pit in Puka Nui. Note stalactites hanging from roof of hole, which is 3-5 m wide. 1143.

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Left. Fume rises from new pit, 10-15 m wide, at South Wall Complex in crater of Pu`u `O`o. Pit formed during night of July 17-18. Dark spatter, most likely erupted from hole at 0757 July 20, forms blanket around part of hole. 1223. Right. Pele's Hair, probably erupted during spattering from new pit at South Wall Complex, hangs from antenna on south rim of Pu`u` O`o.

Map of flows from Pu`u `O`o: 25 July 2005

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

Yellow, brown, and red colors indicate lava flows erupted from October 2003 to July 2005. Yellow shade indicates currently active Kuhio (PKK) flow, active most of the time from March 20, 2004 through the present (late July 2005). The east and west branches (arms) of the PKK flow, once widely separated, began to merge and overlap on coastal flat in March 2005. The east branch feeds the East Kamoamoa ocean entry and probably the East Lae`apuki entry as well. The west branch remains active, with intermittent breakouts on Pulama pali.

The brown shade denotes Martin Luther King (MLK ) flows, which first erupted in January 2004 from flank vents on the south slope of Pu`u `O`o. Since then, several more vents have formed in the MLK area, and they ontinue to erupt intermittently.

Red indicates the Mother's Day/Banana flow, which was last active in September 2004. Short flows from the crater, West Gap, and Puka Nui vents are also shown in red. In recent months, only the Puka Nui vent has produced infrequent, small flows.

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.