Kīlauea Report: Crater Filling Slowly Recovers

It’s been one month since the recent intrusion below Kīlauea’s summit caused a drop in Halemaʻumaʻu crater floor and within its active lava lake, which has only recovered about 60% of its 33-foot or 10-meter drop in that time. The lava level within the lake continues to slowly rise overall, with short-term drops mirroring the background deflation-inflation cycles of ground-tilt. Otherwise, lava continues to inject below the crusted crater floor and lift it in its usual fashion while still swelling underground. The activity of nearby Maunaloa volcano appears to have had only a minor effect on Kīlauea’s monitoring signals. Though ooze-up flows have not added to the show over the past few weeks, viewing for visitors to Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park continues to be popular, with the lake, West Vent cones and pond still visible, glowing and spattering in the distance. Gas emissions continue, and south winds have dispersed vog to a greater number of island communities, which remains the primary hazard of the eruption. All recent activity has been confined to the crater, and according to the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory no unusual activity has been noted in either rift zone. — Join our special live video review of Kīlauea’s ongoing eruption at 5pm Hawaiʻi time weekly on Thursdays. To support our productions (for free) please like, share and subscribe! This content is funded by the Hawaiʻi County Waiwai Grant-In-Aid in association with Malama O Puna and by contributions from viewers like you! To donate, visit https://www.hawaiitracker.com/support. Mahalo! #Kilauea2022 #KilaueaErupts -- [USGS Images: 1. Panoramic view of Halema‘uma‘u crater, looking east, at Kīlauea summit. Lava continues to erupt from the west vent complex into the active lava lake. USGS photo taken by F. Trusdell on the morning of October 12, 2022. 2. Image of the Kīlauea summit eruption within Halema‘uma‘u crater. The western vent complex (fuming cones in foreground), Halema‘uma‘u lava lake and south pond (silvery surface in center), and large island (darker lava in upper left) and all visible in this view from the west rim. Incandescent lava spatter is visible at the east end of the active lava lake. USGS Photo taken by F. Trusdell on the morning of October 12, 2022. 3. Lava depth in the active lake from September 20 to October 20, 2022.]