(BIVN) – The ongoing eruption at the summit of Kīlauea volcano remains paused, and scientists with the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory flew to the summit caldera on Thursday to gather information.

Preliminary models still suggest episode 43 lava fountaining is likely to occur between March 6th and March 16th. Inflation at the summit continued through Wednesday, but summit tiltmeters began recording mild deflation overnight.

“Intermittent glow from both vents was visible through the night, although glow was stronger and more frequent from the south vent,” the Observatory said.

Conditions were extremely hazy during the helicopter overflight on Thursday, “presenting a challenge as the scientists attempted to capture mapping photos”, the USGS HVO wrote on its website. 

USGS: “Despite hazy conditions on Thursday, February 26, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory monitoring overflight crew had clear views of the Kīlauea summit eruptive vents during a low pass over western Halema‘uma‘u crater. No lava or incandescence was visible in either the north (lower-right) or south (upper-left) vent.” (USGS photo by M. Zoeller)

At the end of the overflight, “two USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists were dropped off on the floor of Halema‘uma‘u crater to sample lava from summit eruption episode 42,” that occurred on February 15, the Observatory reported.

From the USGS HVO on Thursday:

Webcams showed occasional flames from north vent early in the night. At the time of this report, both vents are quiet and emitting robust degassing plumes. Low seismic tremor continues through the pause, punctuated by more energetic bursts every 5-10 minutes. These bursts have been associated with brief increases in gas emission and increases in glow from the vents at night. There was one earthquake less than M1.0 located in the summit region in the past 24 hours.

The USGS Volcano Alert Level for Kīlauea is at WATCH.

The USGS HVO monitoring and sampling overflights of Kīlauea summit region are done with permission from and in coordination with Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.