The lava lake at Kilauea Volcano’s summit has risen 89 feet since Monday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory .
As of Friday morning, the lava lake was approximately 151 feet below the floor of Halemaumau Crater, up from 174 feet below on Thursday and 240 feet below on Monday, scientists said. Seismic episodic bursts associated with spattering within the Overlook vent continued. In addition, thermal cracking sounds associated with the rising lava lake surface coming closer to overhanging vent wall material were heard intermittently on Thursday.
Despite five straight days of the lava lake level rising, which has occurred amid a period of steady inflation that began Monday at the summit, it remains out of view from Jaggar Museum within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. 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.
Lava last overflowed the crater rim periodically between April 21 and May 10.
Seismicity rates beneath the summit were at background levels during the past day, scientists said.
Meanwhile, the June 27 lava flow remained active within about 5 miles of the Puu Oo vent, scientists said.
At Puu Oo, scientists noted the tiltmeter, which is used to measure tiny changes in the “tilt” or angle of the ground, on the vent’s north flank continued to show no significant tilt. Seismicity rates there were also at normal background levels.
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