USGS: “On the afternoon of Monday, February 7, 2022, Kīlauea’s summit lava lake activity was located on the west side of Halema‘uma‘u crater. This view of the eruption, from the west side of the crater (in the vicinity of the KWcam and looking to the east) during a Hawaiian Volcano Observatory eruption monitoring field shift shows the effusive outlet feeding the active pond of lava.” (USGS photo by K. Lynn)

(BIVN) – The on-again, off-again eruption of lava at the summit of Kīlauea volcano continues.

On Wednesday morning, another short pause, lava effusion from the west vent within Halemaʻumaʻu crater resumed at approximately 1:20 a.m. HST. There continues to be no indication of activity migrating elsewhere on Kīlauea, scientists say.

From the most recent USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory update:

Halemaʻumaʻu Lava Lake Observations: The lava lake became visible within Halema‘uma‘u crater beginning at 1:20 a.m. HST this morning, February 9, when lava began to overflow the west vent filling the active lava lake that occupies the western portion of Halema‘uma‘u by 2 a.m. last night.

Immediately preceding resumption of eruptive activity, the surface of the active lava lake was 820 meters (2690 feet) above sea level, with a depth of approximately 79 meters (259 feet) relative to when lava emerged on September 29, 2021. Since the eruption resumed, the active lake surface has increased approximately 15 meters (49 feet). Measurements on January 28 indicated that the total lava volume effused since the beginning of the eruption was approximately 45 million cubic meters (12.0 billion gallons) at that time.

Summit Observations: Summit tiltmeters began tracking a sharp inflationary tilt around 12 a.m. HST this morning. Seismic data shows that volcanic tremor increased in signal strength approximately 15 minutes before the eruption resumed. Earthquake activity in the summit region remains below background level. A sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission rate of approximately ~330 tonnes per day (t/d) was measured yesterday, February 8, during an eruptive pause.

No unusual activity has been noted along the East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone, USGS says.