USGS: “View looking south over Halemaʻumaʻu crater at the Kīlauea summit, captured during a helicopter overflight on Thursday, June 22, 2023. The cone built up during the most recent eruption is visible on the southwest (center-right) wall of the crater.” (USGS photo by N. Deligne)

(BIVN) – The eruption of Kīlauea remains paused, and the USGS Volcano Alert Level is at WATCH.

The eruption began in Halema‘uma‘u crater within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park on the morning of June 7, 2023, but went quiet less than two weeks later.

“Although the eruption paused on June 19,” wrote the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory in the caption of a recent photo posted to its website, “the helicopter crew observed a minor ooze-out of lava on the northeast (bottom-right) margin of the recently erupted lava. This indicates that while no new lava is erupting, there is still minor lava circulation in places under the solidified crust. This is expected as the recently dynamic system cools downs.”

From the Sunday, June 25th update from the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory:

Halemaʻumaʻu Observations: Currently no lava is actively erupting in Halemaʻumaʻu crater. Overnight webcam views showed some incandescence from previously erupted lava as the lava proceeds to cool. A live-stream video of the crater is available at (here).

Summit Observations: Simultaneous with the pause in the eruption, seismic activity (including eruptive tremor) in the summit region has been low. Over the last 24 hours, summit tiltmeters have measured nearly no change. A sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission rate of approximately 160 tonnes per day was measured on Thursday, June 22.

Rift Zone Observations: No unusual activity has been noted along the East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone; steady but low rates of ground deformation and seismicity continue along both. Measurements from continuous gas monitoring stations in the middle East Rift Zone—the site of 1983–2018 eruptive activity—remain below detection limits for SO2.