Kīlauea Eruption Update, Week 16: April 6-13, 2021

As Kīlauea’s eruption approaches the 4-month milestone, Halemaʻumaʻu crater continues to slowly fill with lava with only minor changes around the West Vent: Latest on Kīlauea, Eruption Day 114: -West Vent entry fully shifted north since March 22, following change on March 5-7 -Lava pulses trigger breakouts of entry lava tube and ooze-up flows from nearby crusted lake perimeter, both at the same time -SO2 last week measured by USGS between ~850-1000 tonnes/day, within average range of the past 2 months -Lava lake slowly fills around 1 m / 3 ft each week, now 226 m / 741 ft deep (USGS); still well below the inner-most crater rim and not visible from public areas on the ground Small changes around the West Vent entry continue as the lava pathway evolves under the filling lake. Otherwise, no indications of any major change in the eruption are apparent in monitoring signals or have been reported by the USGS. Live video review of Kīlauea’s eruption is broadcast at 5pm HST Tuesdays & Fridays and archived, along with short video updates, on this channel -- including monitoring signals, photos & videos, time-lapses, geologic context and annotation, and discussion of live viewer questions. #Kilauea2021 USGS Image: "On Friday afternoon, April 9, lava entered the Halema‘uma‘u lava lake from two sources near the base of the west vent (degassing on left side of the image). This photo was taken around 4:00 p.m. HST from the western rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater, at Kīlauea summit. The lava source closer to the west vent emerged approximately one hour before this photo was taken. USGS Photo by K. Lynn."