Lava flows, then slows at Kilauea volcano
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For a brief period on Nov.21, a vigorously spattering vent at the east end of Pu‘u ‘?‘? crater fed a swiftly moving river of lava that cascaded into the deeper portions of the crater. The cascade was over within about ten minutes of this photograph, but the vent continued to spatter.
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A collapse of a thin portion of the roof over the lava tube reveals the lava stream beneath the surface in this Nov. 21 photo. The fluid stream is the bright orange color, with the dark orange area to the left representing the hot, incandescent tube wall. The lava stream last week was relatively slow moving in the tube, perhaps reflecting a low rate of lava supply to the flow front.
The ebb and flow of volcanic activity at Kilauea saw an increase in lava activity this weekend, followed by a drop in lava levels Sunday night, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports.
The lava lake at the summit started rising Saturday afternoon only to drop starting Sunday afternoon.
At Puu Oo crater, lava flows could be seen on the east and west edges of the crater floor, from a fissure on the southeast flank of Puu Oo and from a skylight on a tube where lava is flowing.
The increased activity followed inflation of the volcano, followed by a deflation episode as lava levels dropped.
Lava has advanced about 3.5 miles to the southeast since a Sept. 21 fissure eruption at Puu Oo. But scientists say the lava’s advance has been slowed by the "highly variable" flows due to deflation/inflation events.
