(BIVN) – The episodic eruption at the summit of Kīlauea continues, with the next instance of high lava fountaining expected to occur soon. 

The USGS website shows some deflation at the summit yesterday, with deformation levelling-off starting at midnight. This will probably continue to delay the onset of episode 37, which was previously forecast to occur between November 25 and November 28. 

Glow from summit vents was visible overnight and intermittent lava spattering continues to be observed. No overflows were seen from either vent yesterday, or today (as of 10 a.m.). “Prior to cessation, there had been 73 overflows recorded from the summit vents since overflows began on Friday at 9:30 a.m. HST,” the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory says. 

“Sustained seismic tremor has increased slightly at the summit, with minor tremor bursts suggestive of gas pistoning behavior at the vents,” USGS HVO scientists stated.

“Plumes of gas are visible from both the south and north vents,” the Observatory noted. “Sulfur dioxide (SO2) gas emissions remain at 3,000 to 4,000 tonnes per day, which is higher than typical eruption pause levels of 1,200 and 1,500 tonnes per day.”

USGS: “On November 24, a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory helicopter overflight was able to land on the floor of Halema‘uma‘u crater for scientists to collect a sample of cooled lava from a recent overflow of the Kīlauea summit eruptive vents. These overflows—silvery in color when this fresh, as seen on the left of this image—have been erupting intermittently in advance of a likely thirty-seventh lava fountaining episode for the eruption in the coming days. This specific overflow had erupted on November 22 and was no longer emitting much external heat, but the scientists still used water to quench the warm flow interior before transport. Sampling within Halema‘uma‘u, which is done with permission from Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, allows for near real-time geochemical analyses, which provide information on the magma plumbing system below. These data inform our understanding of the hazards associated with the ongoing eruption.” (USGS photo by M. Zoeller)

From the USGS HVO on Tuesday morning:

Overflows ceased just after midnight yesterday, November 24, following a drop and flattening of tilt earlier on November 23 and tremor decreased at the same time, both indicating magma level had dropped in the conduits. Strong glow could be seen from both vents the past two nights, with intermittent spatter recorded from the south vent. Inflation of the shallow Halema’uma’u magma reservoir, as indicated by GPS and summit tiltmeters, has resumed and continues at a steady pace. Forecast models suggest episode 37 is most likely to occur between November 25 and November 28 with only a slight chance today, November 25. The most likely window for start of episode 37 is between tomorrow November 26 and Thanksgiving Day, November 27. This forecast may change if additional unexpected deflation events occur. Previous episodes have been preceded by hours to days of precursory overflows of degassed magma from the vent, similar to what occurred over the weekend, November 21 to 23.

The USGS Volcano Alert Level fir Kīlauea remains at WATCH.