Kilauea Volcano’s summit lava lake level drops

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Kilauea Volcano’s summit lava lake level has dropped.

Kilauea Volcano’s summit lava lake level has dropped.

Between Thursday and Friday morning, the lava lake dropped about 10 feet and was about 165 feet below the rim of the Overlook vent within Halemaumau Crater, scientists with U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said. However, the lava lake continues to circulate and occasionally spatter, producing a gas plume during the day and glow at night.

Tiltmeters at the Kilauea Volcano summit continue to show neither inflation nor deflation Friday morning. The equipment, which measures changes in the “tilt” or angle of the ground, has held steady since Sunday, according to the observatory.

Seismicity rates beneath Kilauea’s summit continued within background values, with some bursts in seismic tremor recorded during periods of vigorous spattering within the vent, scientists said.

Seismicity rates at the East Rift Zone also remained at normal levels, the scientist said.

At the East Rift Zone eruption site, June 27 lava flows remained active within about 5 miles northeast of Puu Oo.