HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY DAILY UPDATE
HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY DAILY UPDATE
U.S. Geological Survey
Friday, December 25, 2020, 7:56 AM HST
KILAUEA VOLCANO (VNUM #332010)
19°25’16” N 155°17’13” W, Summit Elevation 4091 ft (1247 m)
Current Volcano Alert Level: WATCH
Current Aviation Color Code: ORANGE
Activity Summary: No significant change. Lava activity is confined to Halemaʻumaʻu from two vents on the north and northwest sides of the crater. As of 7 this morning, the growing crater lake was 176 m (577 ft) deep. High SO2 emissions continued.
Summit Observations: Summit tiltmeters continued to record steady deflationary tilt. Sulfur dioxide emission rates remain high estimated at around 35,000-40,000 tonnes/day as measured on Monday (Dec. 21) and revised Wednesday (Dec. 23). Seismicity remained elevated but stable, with a few minor earthquakes and tremor fluctuations related to the vigor of fissure fountaining.
Halemaʻumaʻu lava lake observations: Two vents continued erupting on the north and northwest walls of Halemaʻumaʻu. The west vent, which is located on the lowest down-dropped block within Halemaʻumaʻu crater, was intermittently spattering. The north vent remains the most vigorous and is being slowly drowned by the rising lake..
The vents continued to feed lava into a rapidly enlarging lava lake filling Halemaʻumaʻu crater. As of early this morning, the lake was 176 m (577 ft) deep–an increase of 6 m (20 ft) over the previous 24 hrs. The lava lake volume this morning (Dec. 25) was about 21 million cubic meters (27 million cubic yards or 4.8 billion gallons).
An island of cooler, solidified lava within the lava lake has been getting smaller and drifting slowly northeastward in the lake. It is about 260 m (850 ft) in length and 115 m (375 ft) in width based on the Dec. 23rd thermal map (https://www.usgs.gov/maps/december-23-2020-k-lauea-summit-eruption-thermal-map).
Webcam views of the lava lake can be found here: https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/multimedia_webcams.html.
Hazard Analysis: High levels of volcanic gas, rockfalls, explosions, and volcanic glass particles are the primary hazards of concern regarding this new activity at Kīlauea’s summit. Large amounts of volcanic gas—primarily water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), and sulfur dioxide (SO2)—are continuously released during eruptions of Kīlauea Volcano. As SO2 is released from the summit during this new eruption, it will react in the atmosphere with oxygen, sunlight, moisture, and other gases and particles, and within hours to days, convert to fine particles. The particles scatter sunlight and cause the visible haze that has been observed downwind of Kīlauea, known as vog (volcanic smog), during previous summit eruptions. Vog creates the potential for airborne health hazards to residents and visitors, damages agricultural crops and other plants, and affects livestock operations. Rockfalls and minor explosions, such as the ones that occurred during the 2008–2018 lava lake eruption at Kīlauea summit, may occur suddenly and without warning. This underscores the extremely hazardous nature of Kīlauea caldera rim surrounding Halemaʻumaʻu crater, an area that has been closed to the public since late 2007. Pele’s hair and other lightweight volcanic glass fragments from the lava fountains within Halemaʻumaʻu will fall downwind of the fissure vents and lava lake, dusting the ground within a few hundred meters (yards) of the vent. High winds may waft lighter particles to greater distances. Residents are urged to minimize exposure to these volcanic particles, which can cause skin and eye irritation similar to volcanic ash.
Vog information can be found at https://vog.ivhhn.org
