Thursday, April 30, 2015

PHOTOS: People Flock to See Kilauea Lava Lake as it Rises to Record Heights

By Michael Kuhne, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer
April 30,2015; 10:49PM,EDT
 
 
Earlier this week, a lava lake churning within a crater near the summit of Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano rose to record heights, offering visitors a rare glimpse of molten lava splattering above the vent rim before it overflowed late Tuesday night.
Visitors have been flocking to see the breathtaking spectacle, according to the Hawaii Tribune Herald.
"The lava lake has existed since 2008, but has been deep within the Overlook crater and not visible from overlooks in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park," USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Spokeswoman Janet Babb said.
Visitors to Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park can see the lake surface, and molten lava spattering above the vent rim for the first time since its formation, according to USGS.
Place your cursor over the image to see the lava lake rise. Kīlauea Volcano's summit lava lake, which was about 40 feet below the vent rim on April 25, overflowed for the first time at about 9:40 p.m., HST (Photos/USGS Hawaii Volcano Observatory)
The lava lake, which is located within the Overlook crater, one of Kilauea's two active vents, has risen about 25 meters (82 feet) since April 22. On Tuesday April 28, the lava lake overflowed the vent rim for the first time at about 9:40 p.m. HST, USGS reported.
As of noon on Wednesday, the lava lake had overflowed the vent rim several more times.
While the lava has fluctuated since the lake formed, for much of the past year, the level was approximately 30-60 meters below the vent rim.
It had risen to about three to four meters, or 10 feet, below the vent rim as of Tuesday, which was the highest level USGS has measured since the summit eruption began in March 2008, according to Babb.
RELATED:
First Calbuco Eruption in 42 Years Suspends Flights in Buenos Aires
WATCH: Explorers Dangle Over Volcano's Molten Lake of Lava
WATCH: Increased Activity Recorded From Nevado Del Ruiz Volcano

Place your cursor over the image to see the lava lake rise. The Overlook crater lava lake level was 55 m (180 ft) below the vent rim on March 18. On April 26 the lava lake level had risen to 3 m (10 ft) below the vent rim. (Photos/USGS Hawaii Volcano Observatory)
"Now that the lake has risen, it can be seen from park overlooks, such as the one at Jaggar Museum," Babb said.
"Overflow of lava will remain in Halema`uma`u Crater and will not pose a threat to people."
It is possible the lake will return to lower levels in the near future.
(Photo/USGS Hawaii Volcano Observatory)
"We identified paths of steepest descent for the lava flows on Kilauea's East Rift Zone, which helped us forecast where the active lava might go."
The summit lava lake is not connected to the East Rift Zone lava flow that moved toward Pahoa in 2014.
Lava flowed almost 14 miles toward the community of Pahoa, which is located in the Puna District on the Island of Hawaii.
(Photo/USGS Hawaii Volcano Observatory)
A rockfall from the wall of Halema'uma'u Crater impacted the lava lake Tuesday, triggering an explosion of spatter and smaller particles.(Photo/USGS Hawaii Volcano Observatory)
(Photo/USGS Hawaii Volcano Observatory)
(Photo/USGS Hawaii Volcano Observatory)
(Photo/USGS Hawaii Volcano Observatory)
(Photo/USGS Hawaii Volcano Observatory)

Global Saskatoon
GlobalSaskatoon
Whoa, talk about a hot tub! A lava lake has risen to record heights at Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano glbn.ca/MlZus
Bill Nigh
BillNigh
MT @CNNJason: The lava lake at Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii is overflowing for 1st time in a century #CNN pic.twitter.com/lnVwizwd8i
@CBSThisMorning WATCH: Amazing #video of a lava lake on #Hawaii's Big Island where bubbling molten rock has risen to its rim.
Kilauea Volcano's Lava Lake Overflows twib.in/l/eoEdKrpKdyA | twibble.io pic.twitter.com/pus2UeBe7F
😃Sweet RT@APP VIDEO A lake of lava at Hawaii's Kilauea volcano overflows, providing viewers with a spectacular show apne.ws/1bjOIA5y
Kilauea Volcano's Lava Lake Overflows 6.8 magnitude earthquake hits near Kokopo, Papua New Guinea 5.8 magnitude... fb.me/79CqOEeCs
Yikes, glad I saw this lava before today's news! Kilauea Volcano's Lava Lake Overflows (Video) news.yahoo.com/kilauea-volcan… via @YahooNews
Marioto? RT @AP A lake of lava at Hawaii's Kilauea volcano overflows, providing viewers with a spectacular show: apne.ws/1bjOIA5
Incredible lava lake puts on a show at the summit of Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii: seati.ms/1bZRNGL pic.twitter.com/LwTaEGx3oJ
For volcano buffs and Big Island residents: Kilauea lava lake spills over Halema'uma'u Crater hawaiinewsnow.com/story/28887839… pic.twitter.com/mnBo4zrP9k
#Reuters reports: Lava flows from Hawaii's Kilauea volcano - A bubbling lava lake in Hawaii overflows for the firs... ow.ly/2Y4ww4
 

No comments:

Post a Comment