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17 March 2006

From crater to sea

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Left. Looking west from east spillway across crater of Pu`u `O`o. The twin spatter cones are at January Vent. The rounded cone farther right is at East Pond Vent. 1108. Right. Crusted top of magma column (lava pond) in East Pond Vent. 1232.

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Left. Boss shatter ring, developed above upper PKK lava tube. The ring is several tens of meters across. Lava welled up in center to form pahoehoe, and some partly collapsed, leaving dark void. 0837. Right. Looking west across East Lae`apuki lava delta. The two entry points generate columns of laze. Whiffs of fume come from skylight in feeding tube on ramp down cliff on inland side of delta. 1309.

24 March 2006

Hole and hornito

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Left. Newly developed hole at northeast side of MLK vent complex. Incandescence is too bright to determine if it comes from the back wall of the hole or from lava itself. Hole is about 1 m in long dimension. 0841 Right. Spirelike hornito formed several years ago above Mother's Day lava tube. The spire, about 2 m high, is unstable but has withstood several moderate earthquakes since it formed. 1044.

31 March 2006

Skylights, shatter ring, and vents

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Left. Aerial view of southwest side of Pu`u `O`o, showing MLK vent complex (sag with concentric cracks just right of center), Puka Nui (pit floored by dark basalt, left of center, and the two spatter cones in West Gap (above Puka Nui). Most fume comes from inside Pu`u `O`o's crater. Both cracks and foot trails evident in tephra forming Pu`u `O`o itself. 1014. Right. Campout shatter ring about 55 m up the PKK lava tube from buried Boss shatter ring. Campout shatter ring is 58 by 44 m in diameter and stands 4 m high above surrounding pahoehoe. 1037.

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Left. North skylight along PKK lava tube at 350-foot elevation above Paliuli. Note the flowlines visible in lava in tube as well as incandescent walls of tube above lava. 1054. Right. Unnamed skylight, second below north skylight along the PKK tube. 1135.

Map of flows from Pu`u `O`o: 19 December 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 December 16, 2005. Yellow indicates the currently active Kuhio (PKK) flow, active most of the time from March 20, 2004 to the present. The east and west arms of the PKK flow, once widely separated, began to merge and overlap on the coastal flat in March 2005. The east arm feeds the East Lae`apuki ocean entry. Activity on the west arm declined through mid-August, and the last surface flow on that arm was observed on August 21. The recent (November-December 2005) breakouts on Pulama pali described as "eastern" and "western" are all on the east arm of the PKK flow.

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 continue to erupt intermittently.

Red indicates the Mother's Day and Banana flows, 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: 19 December 2005

Map shows vents, lava flows, and other features near Pu`u `O`o frequently referred to in updates (see large map). These features can change quickly, but this map should help those viewers lost in the terminology. The vents, lava tubes, and flows active in 2005 include the numbered vents in the crater, the MLK vent complex and associated flows, the Puka Nui vent, and the upper Kuhio (PKK) tube, which feeds the lava flows eventually reaching the ocean.