(BIVN) – The ongoing eruption at the summit of Kīlauea is currently paused, and the USGS Volcano Alert Level is at ADVISORY.
Summit inflation slowed Monday morning. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported their forecast models suggest that lava fountaining episode 51 will occur sometime between July 9 and 13.
“Kīlauea summit inflation has slowed this morning, with tilt recovery presently at 10.2 microradians on the Uēkahuna (UWD) tiltmeter,” scientists wrote in the Monday update. “Tilt recorded at UWD is currently flat since midnight and SMC began deflating around 3:30 a.m. HST. Summit deflation totaled 15.3 microradians on UWD during lava fountaining episode 50.”
“If this period of slowed inflation and/or deflation persists, it will further delay the onset of the episode,” the Observatory wrote.
On July 2, three HVO scientists flew via helicopter to the northwest side of Halema‘uma‘u to sample tephra deposits in the crater wall. Photos of the journey were shared on the Observatory webpage.
“These deposits were exposed by the 2018 summit collapse, but lava flows from the ongoing episodic Kīlauea summit eruption are likely to bury them again in the near future,” the Observatory wrote in a photo caption. “Refilling the of the crater by eruptions in Halema‘uma‘u since 2020, including the ongoing episode lava fountaining eruption made it fairly easy to access the deposits, which just a few years ago were halfway up the cliff.”
