(BIVN) – Episode 30 in the ongoing eruption at the summit of Kīlauea entered a vigorous fountaining phase early Wednesday morning, and included the emergence of a new vent. 

At 1:12 a.m. HST, 20 minutes after lava began erupting from the north vent, a line of small fountains formed south of the old south vent area. The new vent began producing lower volume flows. The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported the new vent seems to be associated with a cluster of small earthquakes just south of Halemaʻumaʻu, and some ground deformation. 

Vigorous dome fountaining began at both the original north and south vents at 1:20 a.m. HST. Broad fountains from the north vent reached up to 150-300 feet (45-90 meters) high by 2 a.m. HST. 

Strong seismic tremor and increased deflation accompanied the onset of the vigorous fountaining phase. The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory noted no changes have been detected in the East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone. 

Image from USGS webcam showing lava activity during Episode 30 in the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption. A new vent can be seen on the left.

From the USGS HVO Volcanic Activity Notice posted at 2:06 a.m. HST:

Episode 30 vigorous fountaining of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption began at approximately 1:20 a.m. HST on august 6 and is currently producing broad fountains150-300 feet (45-90 meters) high from the north vent. Lava flows from the north vent have covered about 20% of the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu crater. There is a line of small fountains that formed south of the old south vent area that are producing lower volume flows. This appears to be a new vent for this eruption and seems to be associated with a cluster of small earthquakes just south of Halemaʻumaʻu. Past episodes have produced incandescent lava fountains over 1000 feet (300 meters) high that produce eruptive plumes up to 20,000 feet (6000 meters) above ground level. According to the National Weather Service, winds are light and variable from the north direction, which suggests that volcanic gas emissions and volcanic material may be distributed to the south but may fall in a broader pattern than during typical trade winds.

The USGS Volcano Alert Level for Kīlauea remains at WATCH.