Kilauea Volcano’s summit lava lake was within 131 feet of the Overlook vent rim within Halemaumau Crater as of Wednesday morning, scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory report.
The rise in the lava lake level comes amid continued inflation at the summit, which began early Tuesday and continued Wednesday, scientists said. 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.
On Tuesday, the lava lake had risen to within about 141 feet of the vent rim. Between Monday and Tuesday, the lava lake ranged between 140 feet and 180 feet below the vent’s rim. As of Wednesday morning, the lake was within about 131 feet of the vent’s rim. Despite the rise, the lava lake remained out of sight of visitors to Jaggar Museum within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Lava last overflowed the vent rim periodically between April 21 and May 10.
Seismicity rates beneath Kilauea’s summit remained at background levels, scientists said Wednesday adding they observed bursts of seismic tremor associated with periods of vigorous spattering within the Overlook vent.
Meanwhile, the tiltmeter positioned on the north flank of Puu Oo continued to show no change in tilt as of Wednesday morning. Seismicity rates there were normal, scientists said.
Breakouts remained active about 5 miles northeast of the Puu Oo vent, the observatory said.