(BIVN) – The “new lava” has arrived.

During the 11 a.m. media conference call on Friday, scientists with the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory announced that samples taken from a new fissure on the lower East Rift Zone of Kilauea, fissure number 21, reveal that “we are now seeing magma that has come down from the summit and Puʻu ʻŌʻō.”

Before the arrival of new magma, the fissures were erupting what appeared to be lava stored away from the 1955 lava flow, making the lava more viscous in composition.

It an important finding because scientists expected to see more energetic fissure eruptions with faster moving pahoehoe lava flows in conjunction with the arrival of the new magma. Sure enough, activity along the fissures increased overnight.

The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and the National Weather Service all had representatives on the line for today’s conference call. They answered questions about the lower East Rift Zone activity as well as the potential for explosions at the summit.

At 3:59 p.m., the USGS had this update: