Hawaii Volcano Eruption Update – Tuesday Morning ~ June 26, 2018

Hawaii’s erupting Kilauea volcano has consumed a United States Geological Survey (USGS) GPS outpost as the Halemaumau crater collapses in on itself.

The Hawaii volcano GPS station dropped into the crumbling Kilauea crater after a month of gradual decline. The USGS instrument began drifting downwards after the ongoing eruption began on May 3 but later picked up speed on June 8.

After recording more than 310 feet (95metres) of crater slumping, the USGS revealed today it has lost all radio contact with the outpost on June 18. The US agency said: “The GPS instrument, called NPIT, first started moving downward in early May at the onset of subsidence at Kilauea’s summit.

Thousands Now Homeless as Hawaii’s Fissure 8 continues to flow ~ June 13, 2018

News Alert – Thousands Now Homeless As Hawaii’s Kilauea Fissure 8 Eruption Intensifies Fountaining at fissure 8 continues to feed a fast-moving channelized lava flow entering the ocean at Kapoho.

The cone itself has grown taller and wider and the fountains are reaching heights of 130-140 feet. There is. A large steam plume at the ocean entry, where lava is flowing into the water at multiple points. Offshore zones of hot water upwelling continue to be sighted, although they are now more dispersed.

Yesterday we received a lot of questions about the color of the plume from fissure 8, which appeared darker in the afternoon. This was not due to a change in the composition of the plume, but an effect of the angle of the light hitting it.

This plume contains a lot of water vapor, which can appear dark at times, just like any cumulus cloud or thundercloud. When there are blue or brown tinges to the plume, it means light is passing through or being refracted by the sulfur aerosols.

In general, gas emissions from fissure 8 remain high. Fissures 16/18 are still glowing noticably at night, but the sporadic spattering observed over the last several days has diminished. Moving to the summit, At 3:39AM, another small explosion occurred at Kilauea’s summit, producing a plume which rose 7 to 8,000 feet above sea level and drifted southwest with the trade winds.

Inward slumping of the rim and walls of Halema’uma’u crater continues, and several large rockfalls from the crater walls were detected overnight.

Hawaii Kilaeau Update – June 12, 2018

News Alert – Hawaii’s Kilauea Volcano Lava Now Melts 700 Houses Lava flowing from the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island has claimed as many as 700 homes. Bob Fenton, FEMA administrator for the region, said assessments are taking place to determine if renters and homeowners will be eligible for individual FEMA assistance, which would offer payouts averaging $4,000 and maxing out at $34,000.

He said nonprofit organizations are currently offering the bulk of resources and assistance to evacuees, and he encouraged people who have insurance to use it.

Eruption of lava continues from the lower East Rift Zone (LERZ) fissure system in the area of Leilani Estates. A line of closely spaced vents at Fissure 8 are continuing to erupt producing fountains reaching heights up to 160 feet, just higher than the spatter cone around them. This activity continues to feed the fast moving channelized flow that is entering the ocean at Kapoho.

Weak spattering is continuing at Fissures 16/8 as has been noted for the last several days. This morning’s overflight observed a small overflow of a minor pond on the east side of Fissure 8 that did not extend beyond earlier Fissure 8 lavas. Lava was entering the ocean over a broader length this morning with several minor incandescent points and small plumes and two larger entries and corresponding plumes.

The upwelling areas were also more dispersed than yesterday. Kīlauea Volcano Summit At 1:52 AM HST, another small ash-poor explosion occurred at Kīlauea’s summit. This event and many of its precursory earthquakes were widely felt in the Volcano area.

Seismicity dropped following the event as it typically has with recent explosions. Inward slumping of the rim and walls of Halema`uma`u continues in response to ongoing subsidence at the summit.