(BIVN) – The ongoing eruption at the summit of Kīlauea volcano is currently paused, following the abrupt end to Episode 34 lava fountaining on Wednesday morning. 

Minor incandescence of the cones and lava flow field was visible overnight, and this morning a heavy outgassing plume can be seen rising from the inactive vents. 

The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported the Kīlauea summit region resumed inflation following the end of Episode 34, “indicating that another fountaining episode is possible, but likely more than a week away.” 

USGS webcam view of the Kīlauea summit on Thursday morning

From the USGS HVO update posted following the end of Episode 34:

Episode 34 precursory activity began at approximately 9:47 p.m. HST on September 28, with gas pistoning events that produced small, sporadic spatter fountains 10 feet (3 meters) high, and numerous short overflows. Over 120 gas pistoning events occurred intermittently between then and 11:43 p.m. HST on September 30, when sustained overflows and low-level fountaining began within the north vent. Lava fountains within the north vent began to increase in size and volume along with the onset of deflation at 12:53 a.m. on October 1, marking the start of episode 34. Lava fountains from the north vent increased in vigor quickly, reaching up to 330 feet or 100 meters and were inclined slightly to the northeast. At 1:45 a.m. HST on October 1, the south vent began erupting and became the dominant fountain as the episode progressed, reaching vertically up to an estimated 1300 ft (400 m). Fountaining from both vents persisted for just over 6 hours but gradually declined in height. The two vents generated lava flows that covered a large portion of the western part of Halemaʻumaʻu crater floor with channelized lava flows. The south vent stopped erupting at approximately 7:00 a.m. and the north vent followed shortly after at 7:03 a.m. HST, marking the end of episode 34. Deflationary tilt at UWD totaled approximately 26 microradians during the fountaining, with an estimated volume of approximately 12 million cubic yards (9 million cubic meters or 2.5 billion gallons) of lava erupted overnight. The dual fountains also produced a record combined effusion of 500 cubic yards per second, about twice the maximum eruptive rate measured in previous episodes. After eruptive activity ceased at 7:03 a.m. HST, the caldera this morning has been quiet with a passive outgassing plume rising from the vents. Scattered incandescence on the lava flow field, due to residual heat, may continue in the coming days as these recently erupted deposits cool over time. Currently the UWD tiltmeter shows that inflationary tilt has resumed since the end of episode 34, with less than a microradian recorded so far.

Elevated degassing continues from the vent. Average sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission rates during pauses are typically 1,200 to 1,500 t/d, though emission rates can vary on short time scales.

The USGS Volcano Alert Level for Kīlauea remains at WATCH.