The lava began erupting sluggishly from vents around 08:00local time on Thursday, December 26, signaling the start of the third phase of the ongoing summit eruption.
Over the following day and a half, small, slow-moving lava flows continued to emerge, traveling only short distances from the northern vents. This sluggish, low-effusion activity, which has persisted for the past 2.5 days, marks the third eruptive episode and has lasted significantly longer than the 3–4 hours of sluggish eruption preceding the fountaining during the second episode.
Around 05:15 PM local time, fountaining from the southern active vent began to intensify and became more continuous, with spatter reaching heights of 60–100 feet (20–30 meters), predominantly from the more southerly of the two vents. By 06:00 PM loca time, the increased lava output had covered approximately 20% of the Halemaʻumaʻu crater floor.
Deflation in the southern caldera area started around 01:00 PM local time and is ongoing. The tiltmeter at Uēkahuna recorded inflation beneath Halemaʻumaʻu until 3 p.m., when it leveled off. Tremor levels have gradually increased over the past two days but remain relatively low compared to the first two episodes of vigorous fountaining, where heights exceeded 250 feet (80 meters). In the previous episodes, deflation beneath Halemaʻumaʻu and the southern caldera region occurred simultaneously.
Source: Hawaiian Volcano Observatory volcano activity update 29 December 2024
The recent Sentinel-2 satellite imagery of Kilauea from 27 December depicts the new lava lake within the Halemaʻumaʻu crater (image: ESA Sentinel-2)The lava began erupting sluggishly from vents around 08:00local time on Thursday, December 26, signaling the start of the third phase of the ongoing summit eruption.
Over the following day and a half, small, slow-moving lava flows continued to emerge, traveling only short distances from the northern vents. This sluggish, low-effusion activity, which has persisted for the past 2.5 days, marks the third eruptive episode and has lasted significantly longer than the 3–4 hours of sluggish eruption preceding the fountaining during the second episode.
Around 05:15 PM local time, fountaining from the southern active vent began to intensify and became more continuous, with spatter reaching heights of 60–100 feet (20–30 meters), predominantly from the more southerly of the two vents. By 06:00 PM loca time, the increased lava output had covered approximately 20% of the Halemaʻumaʻu crater floor.
Deflation in the southern caldera area started around 01:00 PM local time and is ongoing. The tiltmeter at Uēkahuna recorded inflation beneath Halemaʻumaʻu until 3 p.m., when it leveled off. Tremor levels have gradually increased over the past two days but remain relatively low compared to the first two episodes of vigorous fountaining, where heights exceeded 250 feet (80 meters). In the previous episodes, deflation beneath Halemaʻumaʻu and the southern caldera region occurred simultaneously.
Source: Hawaiian Volcano Observatory volcano activity update 29 December 2024 Read More
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