(BIVN) – The ongoing eruption at the summit of Kīlauea volcano is currently paused. The next episode of lava fountaining is likely to begin towards the end of next week. 

Kīlauea’s summit region resumed inflation following the end of Episode 34 on October 1st. On Friday, scientists with the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory calculated Episode 35 is likely to start between October 17 and 21. 

Variable weak to moderate incandescence has been visible from north and south vents in Halemaʻumaʻu overnight, and a “rhythmic pattern of seismic tremor indicates gas piston events in both vents”, the Observatory reported. 

USGS webcam view of the Kīlauea summit on Friday morning

From the Friday update provided by the USGS HVO:

Summit Observations:

The caldera this morning has been quiet with a passively outgassing plume rising from the vents after the end of episode 34. Last night, both the north and south vents showed weak to moderate glow. The variable nature of the glow correlates with seismic tremor occurring 10–15 minutes apart, which are indicative of gas piston activity within both vents. The UWD tiltmeter shows that inflationary tilt has resumed since the end of episode 34 and has recovered approximately 16 microradians so far. There were a few small magnitude summit earthquakes in the past 24 hours.

Episode 34 precursory activity began at approximately 9:47 p.m. HST on September 28, with gas piston events that produced small, sporadic spatter fountains 10 feet (3 meters) high, and numerous short overflows. Over 120 gas piston 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 (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 feet (400 meters). 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 the 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.

Elevated degassing continues from the vents largely in bursts related to gas piston events. Overall, 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.