Kilauea lava lake continues to rise, remains visible from Jaggar Museum

The lava lake within Overlook Crater is now visible to visitors at Jaggar Museum, the U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports.

The lake within Kilauea Volcano’s summit Overlook Crater remains at its highest level since the crater opened in 2008, according to the observatory.

As of 7:30 a.m. Friday, lava had filled the crater to within 52 feet (16 meters) of its rim, which is located within Halemaumau Crater at the volcano’s summit, said Janet Babb, a geologist with the observatory. She said the scientists remained in the field around 10 a.m.

The Overlook Crater is located about 279 feet below Halemaumau’s rim. Jaggar Museum sits about 0.8 mile from the edge of Halemaumau Crater.

“The surface of the lava lake came into view (Thursday) afternoon, when observed from the Jaggar Museum overlook, and remains in view this morning,” the scientists wrote in their daily Kilauea update.

The observatory said the lake’s high level triggered a small collapse from the overhanging west wall and rim of the Overlook Crater at about 5:20 a.m. Friday, resulting in a small explosive event that threw spatter out onto the Halemaumau Crater floor.

Such fluctuation is normal at Kilauea’s summit lava lake, however, the fact that it rose to such a level is notable, Geologist Janet Babb said Thursday. About 7 a.m. Thursday, scientists had estimated the lava was about 90 feet below the rim and on Wednesday, the lake hovered between 100 and 130 feet below the rim.

“The summit lake level fluctuates all the time, this is just a little bit unusual as to how high it came up,” she said. “There have been times when (the lake) has dropped below view and times when it has been higher.”

The current rise in the lava lake level comes amid a period of steady inflation at the summit, which began abruptly Tuesday afternoon and continued through about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday. The rate further increased Wednesday and the volcano continued to inflate Friday morning.

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.

Babb said Thursday scientists are monitoring the situation to determine if the activity at Overlook Crater has any impact on the East Rift Zone eruption. However, past observations and experience indicate there is a connection between the summit activity and activity at the other areas.

The lava lake previously reached a high in October 2012 when it rose to within 77 feet of the Overlook Crater rim, Babb said. In March 2011, the lava lake level was so low it was “essentially out of view.” The activity also came amid a period of inflation that later entered the deflation phase without notable incident.

The Overlook Crater within Halemaumau opened in 2008, after the viewing area near the rim of Halemaumau was closed in 2007 because of sulfur dioxide levels and safety concerns. When the Overlook Crater vent opened just below the viewing area, it measured about 115 feet wide. Today is it about 500 feet by 700 feet, Babb said. Lava last covered the entire crater floor of Halemaumau in 1967 and 1968 years ago.

Meanwhile, lava flow activity within Kilauea Volcano’s Puu Oo crater continues with small flows from vents at the south and southeast edges of the crater. The tiltmeter, which is used to measure tiny changes in the slope angle or “tilt” of the ground, on the north flank of Puu Oo recorded during the past 24 hours weak inflation that may be related to the summit inflation.

Scientists, who continue to use webcams to observe the flow, said breakouts along the June 27 lava flow remain active within 5 miles of Puu Oo.

The U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory on March 25 downgraded its alert level for Kilauea Volcano from a “warning” to a “watch.”