Kilauea summit January 3, 2018 and August 31, 2018. ( larger view

Kīlauea summit and lower East Rift Zone for 10:11 a.m., Sunday, September 2, 2018.

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), incandescence was observed in the fissure 8 cone yesterday afternoon (09/01) with reports of activity extending into early evening. In addition to a persistent spot of spattering, lava slowly covered the 65-by-15 m (210-by-45 ft) crater floor by evening. Webcam views showed weak incandescence occasionally reflected on the eastern spillway wall from the crater overnight suggesting that the lava in the crater remained active. This morning, ground crews have no view of the crater inside the fissure 8 cone, but report the fissure 8 cone is quiet when viewed from a safe distance with no visible 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. Friday (08/31), LERZ emission rates were still too low to measure. Summit tiltmeter UWE was repaired and reinstalled late last week and after it settles from the disruption, it 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 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.

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