Volcanic Activity and Safety Update
VSAS Kīlauea Eruption Update Information Session August 15, 2018
with expert guest speakers Brian Shiro-Geophysicist USGS HVO, John Broward-Chief Ranger HVNP, John Peard-Project Manager DOH HEER Office of Hilo, and Philip Ong-Master Geologist, and Q&A session with students, parents and guardians.
Update as of August 31, 2018
No major eruption events have occurred since the Eruption Update Information Session on August 15. Highway 11 is viable, and work on a bypass road is paused until further notice. Below is USGS HVO most recent update.
"Seismicity remains low and ground deformation is negligible at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. Earthquakes, probably aftershocks of the magnitude-6.9 earthquake in early May, continue on South Flank faults. On the volcano's lower East Rift Zone (LERZ), the last visible incandescence in the fissure 8 cone was observed on August 25. This morning's overflight crew saw no incandescence anywhere on the flow field and coastal area. Fissure 8 continues to fume. Sulfur dioxide emission rates at the summit, Puʻu ʻŌʻō, and LERZ are drastically reduced; the combined rate (< 1,000 t/d) is lower than at any time since late 2007.
The most recent deformation results in the LERZ do not show patterns that would be consistent with rift opening or closing. If the subsurface magma intrusion is cooling, those effects are not yet strong enough to be detectable.
Summit tiltmeter UWE was repaired and reinstalled yesterday and, after it settles from the disruption, will be returned to the Kilauea monitoring webpage. HVO crews continue to restore communication with several monitoring stations on the east side of the island that was disrupted by the passage of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Lane but the losses do not significantly reduce our ability to assess volcanic conditions. Whiteout conditions could occur on the new lava field due due to steam produced by heavy rainfall on still-hot lava flows.
The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) will continue to closely monitor Kīlauea's seismicity, deformation, and gas emissions for any sign of reactivation, and maintain visual surveillance of the summit and LERZ as best we can. Ground and drone crews are in the field today but continue to be hampered by weather conditions.
HVO will continue to issue daily updates and additional messages as needed. The next update will be issued tomorrow morning unless significant changes occur."
HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY STATUS REPORT, August 31, 2018
U.S. Geological Survey
RESOURCES:
Kilauea Status Update