U.S. Geological Survey - Hawaiian Volcano Observatory

Volcano Watch

Volcano Watch is a weekly newsletter written by the scientists at the US Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. It is published in the Hawaii Tribune-Herald's Sunday newspaper and the West Hawai'i Today's Monday newspaper, and posted here the following Monday or Tuesday. While primarily addressed to the residents of the Big Island of Hawai`i, some articles may have a broader scope. Article topics may range from volcanic features on the Big Island, volcanic hazards, informational topics of Long Valley, Montserrat, or Alaska, to topics about the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

Latest Issue:

October 1, 2009: Hualalai is third most active volcano in Hawai`i

Previous Issue:

September 24, 2009: Ancient Hawaiians: Plenty of Oars but No Ores

Kīlauea Eruption Status

Lava continues to erupt from the TEB vent, on Kīlauea's east rift zone and flow through tubes to the ocean at Waikupanaha. A deflation-inflation cycle this past week resulted in a reduction of lava supply for several days, followed by a resumption of flow on Wednesday, Sept. 30. Breakouts from the tube system started at that time, and these surface flows remain active at the top of Royal Gardens subdivision. The flows are mostly staying close to the breakout point along the east margin of the flow field.

Faint glow above the vent at Kīlauea's summit has been visible at night. A portion of the Halema`uma`u vent cavity collapsed on Saturday, Sept. 26, followed by the appearance of an active lava pond deep within the vent cavity on the night of Tuesday, Sept. 29. Volcanic gas emissions remain elevated, resulting in high concentrations of sulfur dioxide downwind.

Four earthquakes beneath Hawai`i Island were reported felt this past week. A magnitude-2.3 earthquake occurred at 12:30 p.m., H.s.t., on Friday, September 25, 2009, beneath Kilauea's summit at a depth of 6 km (4 miles). Two earthquakes occurred on Sunday, September 27-a magnitude-2.1 earthquake at 9:52 a.m., H.s.t., located 7 km (4.3 miles) N of Kailua at a depth of 8 km (5 miles) and a magnitude-2.3 earthquake at 10:22 p.m., H.s.t., located 7 km (4.3 miles) ENE of Honaunau at a depth of 6 km (3.7 miles). A 1.6-magnitude earthquake at 7:11 p.m. H.s.t., on Wednesday, September 30, was located 15 km (10 miles) NW of Mauna Kea's summit at a depth of 25 km (16 miles).

Visit our Web site (http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov) for detailed Kīlauea and Mauna Loa activity updates, recent volcano photos, recent earthquakes, and more; call (808) 967-8862 for a Kīlauea activity summary; email questions to askHVO@usgs.gov.

The Volcano Watch Archive

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USGS, HVO would like to thank Gerard Fryer at SOEST for doing a great job posting, archiving, and maintaining our Volcano Watch articles on their website from December 30, 1994 through March 6, 1998.

The URL of this page is http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch/intro_txt.html
Contact: hvowebmaster@usgs.gov
Updated: October 6, 2009 (pnf)