UPDATE (1:30 p.m.) – USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist Matt Patrick gave the Hawaiʻi County Council a presentation today on the Halemaʻumaʻu crater lake at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. One of Patrick’s power point slides stated there are “no detectable signs of imminent unrest at the summit”, and provided the following important points of information:

Currently, the water pond is stable, with a slow and consistent rise in water level, and no obvious changes in color or surface activity

Ongoing inflation indicates that the summit magma chamber continues to steadily recharge, and magma remains deep in the system

Low rates of SO2 emission (45 tonnes per day), but some sulfur is being absorbed by the pond (and groundwater)

Seismicity is elevated (compared to pre-2018) but has been relatively steady in recent months

Patrick also spoke about the implications of the crater lake for hazards. Magma interacting with water can trigger explosive activity, and according to his presentation:

In Kīlauea’s geologic record, there is a long history of larger explosions at the summit, that affected the entire summit region.

Some of these explosions are thought to be triggered by rapidly rising magma interacting with surface water, but the exact conditions that produced the explosive behavior are not clear

Most likely, explosive activity would be preceded by detectable precursors, such as rapid inflation, or increased seismicity, that indicates magma rising

However, small gas-driven explosions can occur at volcanic lakes without warning and cannot be ruled out

Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense administrator Talmadge Magno also attended the presentation but made no comments.

(BIVN) – original story – A Hawaiʻi County Council committee is expecting to hear a presentation today from the U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, and Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense, on the “source and accumulation of water in Halemaʻumaʻu crater” on the summit of Kīlauea.

Kīlauea Volcano is not erupting, and scientists are presently monitoring the water pond at the bottom of Halema’uma’u, which began forming on July 25, 2019, and which continues to slowly expand and deepen.

The council’s Agriculture, Water, Energy, and Environmental Management Committee meets at 11 a.m. (Tuesday, Dec. 3) in Hilo.

From the November 7th Kīlauea activity update produced by the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory: