The lava lake at Kilauea Volcano’s summit remains out of view from Jaggar Museum, the U.S. Geological Survey reported Wednesday morning.
Scientists said Wednesday morning that the summit lava lake level continues to recede and was about 65 feet below the rim of the Overlook Crater, which is located on the floor of Halemaumau Crater. The lake has not sent lava onto the floor of Halemaumau in recent days. It had been spilling over the crater rim periodically since April 21.
Data from tiltmeters positioned at the summit on Wednesday also showed the volcano continued to deflate. 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.
Seismicity remained elevated Wednesday morning beneath Kilauea’s summit and upper East and Southwest Rift Zones.
The tiltmeter, which is used to measure tiny changes in the slope angle or “tilt” of the ground, on the north flank of Puu Oo recorded very minor fluctuations in tilt during the past 24 hours. Scientists also said they observed no active flows within the crater, however, nighttime incandescence suggests lava remains present in the collapsed pit west of the main crater.
Breakouts along the June 27 lava flow remained active within 5 miles of Puu Oo Wednesday morning. Most of the flows were located within 2 miles of the vent and being fed by a breakout that occurred Feb. 21, according to the observatory.
The U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory on March 25 downgraded its alert level for Kilauea Volcano from a “warning” to a “watch.”