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12 May 2006

Flooded Nova and removed delta

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Left. Aerial view of Nova shatter ring complex, showing how lava has filled inside of the two largest rings, upper and lower Nova. Compare with image of April 28. 0842. Right. Looking east along front of East Lae`apuki lava delta (in distance) and adjacent land (foreground), showing small scallop left by collapse of narrow slice of delta. The collapse slice is about 300 m long and 70 m wide. 0849.

19 May 2006

East Lae`apuki and Petunia

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Left. Aerial view looking east of East Lae`apuki lava delta. Acid steam (laze) rises from points whether lava enters the water or where the surf crashes against hot rock. The area of the delta is about 17 hectares (43 acres). 1120. Right. Looking west across cracked surface of East Lae`apuki lava delta. Lava has welled from some cracks and then, after solidifying, was cut by renewed widening of the cracks. 1122.

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Left. Looking steeply down at lava entering water at front of East Lae`apuki delta. 1122. Right. Petunia skylight, high up the PKK lava tube. 1335.

31 May 2006

East Lae`apuki lava delta

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Left. Looking west across East Lae`apuki lava delta. Largest plume comes from most seaward point on delta. 0825. Right. Small spatter cone and surrounding ring of spatter along crack on surface of delta formed from 1100 to 1837 on May 29, during an interval of repeated bubble bursts. Spatter from the most inland cracks continued until about 1900, followed by lava flows for the rest of the night. Bubbles during the spattering were approximately 20 m high. The spattering is likely caused by interaction with seawater in the crack. 0816.

Map of flows from Pu`u `O`o: April 2006

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

Yellow, brown, and red colors depict lava flows erupted from October 2003 to April 14, 2006. 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 both the East Lae`apuki ocean entry and the March 1 breakout. Activity on the west arm declined through summer 2005, and the last surface flow on that arm was observed in August 2005.

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. None of these last three areas have produced any flows in 2006.

Map of Pu`u `O`o and vicinity: April 2006

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 2005-2006 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.