Kilauea Volcano’s summit lava lake has risen, but remains out of view of visitors at the Jaggar Museum within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on Tuesday.
Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said Tuesday morning that the lava lake had risen to within about 141 feet of the Overlook vent rim on the floor of Halemaumau Crater. During the past 24 hours, the lake level has measured between 140 feet and 180 feet below the vent’s rim. Scientists also noted that changes in the circulation patterns within the lake accompanied fluctuations in spattering and gas release.
The rise in the lake level Tuesday morning correlated with a switch to inflation late Monday at the volcano’s 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.
Seismicity rates beneath Kilauea’s summit remained at background levels, scientists said adding they observed bursts of seismic tremor associated with periods of vigorous spattering within the Overlook vent.
Lava last overflowed the vent rim periodically between April 21 and May 10 amid a period of increased activity at the summit of Kilauea Volcano that drew thousands to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to view.
Meanwhile, The tiltmeter, which is used to measure tiny changes in the “tile” or angle of the ground, positioned on the north flank of Puu Oo continued to show no change in tilt as of Tuesday morning. A small increase in seismic activity in the Upper East Rift Zone was noted shortly after midnight.
Breakouts remained active about 5 miles northeast of the Puu Oo vent, the observatory said.