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COURTESY: USGS/HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY
Lava is thrown 15 to 30 feet in the air from at area of splattering in the lava lake in Halemaumau Crater in this image taken from a video shot on Wednesday, May 9, 2011.
COURTESY: USGS/HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY
Pele's hair covers much of the ground in the area immediately downwind of the vent at Halema?uma?u crater on May 3, 2012. Accumulations about a yard) wide are found on the windward sides of the curbs in the Halema?uma?u parking lot, which is closed to the public because of the ongoing volcanic hazard.
COURTESY: USGS/HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY
The flows on the coastal plain continue to take their time on their path to the ocean in this photo taken on May 4, 2012. The relatively sluggish p?hoehoe breakouts were active about 0.7 miles from the water. In the upper right portion of the photograph, fume sources on the pali mark the path of the lava tube coming through Royal Gardens subdivision.
The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory released new video this week showing splattering in the lava lake in Halemaumau Crater.
The lava is thrown 15 to 30 feet in the air before sinking back into the lake in the video taken Wednesday. Scientists say views of the lake are fleeting as the gas plume shifts with the wind.
The lava lake rises and falls as the volcano goes through inflation and deflation cycles. Earlier this week, lava splattering reached the inner ledge of the vent in Halemaumau Crater. Glow from the lava lake can be seen against the gas plume at night.
Earlier this month, Pele’s hair, strands of green/gold lava that resemble hair, covered the ground downwind of the vent. Pele’s hair is formed when lava is thrown in the air and explodes or is spun into strands by windy conditions.
The observatory also released a new photo of a lava flow that appears to be headed to the ocean. An older flow that spread over the coastal plain has mostly stalled. But a new flow continues to slowly advance from the Pali. It was less than a mile from the ocean on Thursday.
