The lava fountains and human drama in Hawaii’s Lower Puna District are getting all the headlines, but geologists know there is also drama ongoing at the summit, where the volcano’s crater seems to have been slowly collapsing since the lava lake drained.
Hawaiian Volcano Observatory staff were forced to move farther away from the summit area because the many earthquakes there were damaging the building. Now, they have set up a livestream, and it’s fascinating to watch. Basically, the crater walls are slowly crumbling inward, and there is a pile of rocks at the bottom that may be suppressing the explosions — after a period of suppression, of course, there will likely be a big steam blast to relieve pressure, But no one knows if or when that will happen, or what will happen next.
Anyway, here’s the livestream:
For comparison, here’s a video they recorded in March to mark the ten-year anniversary of the lava lake first appearing in the summit crater. Where he’s standing has already collapsed now.
Here is a drone overlight of Halemaumau they did on May 31st. As you can see, the vent where the lava lake used to be has expanded to almost fill the whole crater. And there’s the rock pile down at the bottom, probably supressing, to some extent, the explosions.
And, about an hour ago, the USGS posted this:
June 5 overflight of summit #KilaueaEruption site. #Halemaumau Crater has expanded and collapsed over the past month. Watch the live stream https://t.co/ZfVc8WBpkU & see more videos https://t.co/vOjDzOXaSl #KilaueaSummit #KilaueaEruption pic.twitter.com/xP46wrYAKn
— USGS Volcanoes🌋 (@USGSVolcanoes) June 6, 2018
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Featured image: USGS. Those curved lines on the left is where the visitor’s parking lot used to be.
Flight To Wonder 