Scientists: June 27 lava flow remains active northeast of Puu Oo

The June 27 lava flow remains active northeast of Puu Oo, scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said Monday.

The breakouts, described by scientists as “scattered,” were active within 5 miles of the Puu Oo vent at Kilauea Volcano, the observatory said. Scientists noted that the breakouts, which have triggered minor brush fires as lava came into contact with forested areas, have not advanced significantly during the past month though there has been some expansion of the flow margins, or edges, during the past two weeks.

The tiltmeter, which is used to measure tiny changes in the “tile” or angle of the ground, positioned on the north flank of Puu Oo continued to show no significant change in tilt as of Monday morning. Scientists did note that early Sunday, there was a small swarm of earthquakes in the Kilauea upper East Rift Zone. The strongest earthquake was a magnitude-2.0 temblor at 5:06 a.m. Sunday.

Meanwhile, Kilauea Volcano’s summit lava lake continues to fluctuate amid changes in summit inflation and deflation. It remained well below the rim of the Overlook vent on the floor of Halemaumau Crater as of Monday morning, scientists said.

Kilauea Volcano’s summit tiltmeters began recording deflation Sunday morning and since then the lava lake level has declined. On Sunday, the lake was about 130 feet below the Overlook vent rim. Last Monday, the lava was 240 feet below the rim.

During inflation, magma rises into the summit reservoir, according to the observatory. The summit reservoir enters the deflation portion of the cycle when the magma moves laterally into a rift zone and either erupts or is stored there.

Lava last overflowed the crater rim periodically between April 21 and May 10 amid a period of increased activity at the summit of Kilauea Volcano that drew thousands to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to view.