Three areas of breakouts remain active in the upslope portion of the June 27 lava flow, the U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported Tuesday morning.
Scientists, who used webcams to assess the flow, said Tuesday that the Feb. 21 breakout remains active on the northern flank of Puu Oo, while the March 9 breakout near Puu Kahaualea continues to move toward the north. Breakouts, which had shown signs of increased activity, also remained active between 3 and 4 miles northeast of Puu Oo.
There are no other areas of breakouts along the June 27 flow field located within Kilauea Volcano’s East Rift Zone, scientists said. All downslope areas remained quiet.
Tiltmeters positioned at Kilauea’s summit continued to record modest inflation — about 2.3 microradians between April 1 and 2 a.m. Tuesday. Starting at 2 a.m., the inflation rate increased and tiltmeters, which are used to measure tiny changes in the slope angle or “tilt” of the ground, recorded a 0.3 microradian change.
Kilauea’s summit began inflating April 1 after appearing to have entered a deflation-inflation cycle that commenced March 30. During inflation, magma rises into the summit reservoir, according to the observatory. The summit reservoir enters the deflation portion of the cycle when the magma moves laterally into a rift zone and either erupts or is stored there.
The summit lava lake level has rose about 30 feet since April 1, scientists said Monday. On Tuesday, they said the volcano continued to host the lake at its summit.
Summit seismic tremor continued with episodic bursts accompanying spattering and temporary drops in lava level, according to HVO. Earthquake activity remained slightly elevated beneath the south summit caldera and the Southwest Rift Zone midway between the summit caldera and the ocean.
The tiltmeter on the north flank of Puu Oo recorded minor variations.
The U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory on March 25 downgraded its alert level for Kilauea Volcano from a warning to a watch.
The observatory said the decision to lower the alert level from “warning” to “watch” was made because the lava flow nearest to the town of Pahoa has remained inactive. Hawaii County Civil Defense on March 28 suspended its daily eruption and lava flow updates.