The lava lake at Kilauea Volcano’s summit has spilled over the rim of Overlook Crater, the U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports.
At 9:40 p.m. Tuesday, a small amount of lava overflowed onto the floor of Halemaumau Crater followed by a larger overflow about 2 a.m. Wednesday that sent lava short distance onto the crater floor, scientists said. Another overflow started around 8 a.m. Wednesday and continues.
Lava last covered the entire crater floor of Halemaumau in 1967 and 1968, nearly 50 years ago.
The current rise in the lava lake level comes amid a period of inflation at Kilauea, which began abruptly on April 21. Scientists on Wednesday said there was weak deflation at the summit. 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 lava lake previously reached a high in October 2012 when it rose to within 77 feet of the Overlook Crater rim. The activity also came amid a period of inflation that later entered the deflation phase without notable incident.
The Overlook Crater within Halemaumau opened in 2008, after the viewing area near the rim of Halemaumau was closed in 2007 because of sulfur dioxide levels and safety concerns. When the Overlook Crater vent opened just below the viewing area, it measured about 115 feet wide. Today it is about 500 feet by 700 feet.
Meanwhile, scientists said webcams showed widespread lava breakouts along the June 27 lava flow within 5 miles of Puu Oo vent. Equipment at Puu Oo recorded weak inflation during the past day.
On Tuesday, Hawaii County Civil Defense issued its first eruption and lava flow update since suspending the daily breifing on March 28. Civil Defense said the recent rise in the lava lake level has “not resulted in any significant change or increased activity at Puu Oo.”
“The team at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory is maintaining close observations of all volcanic activity and the community will be kept informed of any changes in the level of volcanic threat,” Civil Defense said.
The U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory on March 25 downgraded its alert level for Kilauea Volcano from a “warning” to a “watch.”