(BIVN) – The eruption at the summit of Kīlauea is paused, and the summit appears to be once again reinflating at a steady pace, after a period of instability.
“The abrupt switch from summit deflation to inflation at the end of episode 54 and continued glow from the eruptive vents indicate that another lava fountaining episode may occur in the coming weeks if normal tilt patterns resume,” the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported Saturday. “Reinflation has been minimal since the end of the episode, and the deflationary tilt that occurred from Wednesday, August 26 through Thursday, August 27 is evidence that unpredictable, stepwise reinflation will likely continue during this repose period—as it has since episode 51.”
“The current situation—with minimal cumulative reinflation, three and a half days after the end of episode 54—is unique for this eruption,” the Observatory stated. “HVO will provide a forecast for the next lava fountaining episode if and when summit inflation stabilizes.”
Although the rate of inflation has since increased, scientists say more data are needed to model the forecast window for the next episode.
On Saturday, the Observatory also noted the “release and combustion of volcanic gas (likely hydrogen) appears to be occurring deep within the vent and is related to larger tremor bursts observed in seismic data streams. Little or no glow appears to be coming from incandescent magma, suggesting it is relatively deep and possibly crusted over between gas release tremor bursts.”
The south vent appears to be partially filled in by the spatter and tephra that erupted from the north vent during the episode 54 lava fountaining. The north and west vents are open.
The USGS Volcano Alert Level for Kīlauea is at ADVISORY, and the Aviation Color Code is at YELLOW.
