Volcano Watch is a weekly newsletter written by the scientists at the US Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. It is published in the Hawaii Tribune-Herald's Sunday newspaper and the West Hawai'i Today's Monday newspaper, and posted here the following Monday or Tuesday. While primarily addressed to the residents of the Big Island of Hawai`i, some articles may have a broader scope. Article topics may range from volcanic features on the Big Island, volcanic hazards, informational topics of Long Valley, Montserrat, or Alaska, to topics about the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

Latest Issue:

August 7, 2008: Can we control volcanic hazards?

Previous Issue:

July 31, 2008: Halema`uma`u appears laid back but . . .

Pu`u `Ō`ō continues to produce sulfur dioxide at even higher rates than the vent in Halema`uma`u Crater. Trade winds tend to pool these emissions along the West Hawai`i coast, while Kona winds blow these emissions into communities to the north, such as Mountain View, Volcano, and Hilo. Incandescence continues to be observed at night inside Pu`u `Ō`ō and suggests minor activity from vents within the crater.

Lava continues to erupt from fissure D of the July 21, 2007, eruption and flows toward the ocean through a well-established lava tube. No breakouts have been observed in the past week anywhere on the flow field. Lava continues to flow into the ocean at Waikupanaha, however, where minor-to-moderate explosive activity has been observed. A deformation event at Kīlauea's summit, starting on Tuesday, August 5, at least partly choked off the supply of lava to the east rift zone eruption site. The ocean entry plume was dead, except for occasional small puffs, by Wednesday morning, and remains inactive at the time of this writing (Thursday, August 7). If this summit deformation event follows previous patterns, then it is likely that the eruption and ocean entry will have resumed by the time you read this.

Be aware that lava deltas could collapse at any time, potentially generating large explosions. This may be especially true during times of rapidly changing lava supply conditions, as have been seen lately. Do not venture onto the lava deltas. Even the intervening beaches are susceptible to large waves generated during delta collapse; avoid these beaches. In addition, steam plumes rising from ocean entries are highly acidic and laced with glass particles. For viewing hours at the coast, check the Civil Defense Web site (http://www.lavainfo.us) or call 961-8093 for viewing hours.

Mauna Loa is not erupting. Three earthquakes were located beneath the summit this past week. Continuing extension between locations spanning the summit indicates slow inflation of the volcano.

Two earthquakes beneath Hawai`i Island were reported felt within the past week. A magnitude-3.2 earthquake occurred at 01:25 a.m. on Friday, August 1, 2008, H.s.t., and was located 25 km (16 miles) south of Kaupo, Maui, at a depth of 15 km (9 miles). A magnitude-2.7 earthquake occurred at 7:20 a.m. on Monday, August 4, and was located 23 km (14 miles) northeast of Laupahoehoe at a depth of 6 km (4 miles).

Visit our Web site (http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov) for daily Kīlauea eruption updates, a summary of volcanic events over the past year, and nearly real-time Hawai`i earthquake information. Kīlauea daily update summaries are also available by phone at (808) 967-8862. Questions can be emailed to askHVO@usgs.gov.

The Volcano Watch Archive

Search Text to Search For: Boolean: AND OR Case Insensitive Sensitive

|| 1994 || 1995 || 1996 || 1997 || 1998 || 1999 || 2000 || 2001 || 2002 || 2003 || 2004 || 2005 || 2006 || 2007 || 2008 || Other articles ||