Episode 53 of lava fountaining at Kīlauea (Hawaiʻi) is in the books! Here’s a recap of the activity:
▶️ The episode began at 10:30 a.m. HST on August 25 and ended at 7:33 p.m. HST, lasting over 9 hours.
▶️ Fountains occurred from the North Vent only.
▶️ Maximum fountain height was 500 feet (150 meters)
▶️ Eruptive plume rose to an altitude of 17,000 feet (5,200 meters).
▶️ Winds out of the northeast carried gas and fine ash/Peleʻs hair toward the southwest.
▶️ Lava flows covered about 30% of the Halemaʻumaʻu crater floor
▶️ Total erupted volume was 5.2 million cubic yards (4 million cubic meters), and the highest instantaneous effusion rate was 290 cubic yards (220 cubic meters) per second at about noon HST.
▶️ The abrupt switch from summit deflation to inflation at the end of episode 54 indicates that another lava fountaining episode is likely in the coming weeks.
Latest Kīlauea status update: https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/volcano-updates
Kīlauea monitoring data: https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/science/monitoring-data-kilauea
Kīlauea summit eruption information: https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/science/eruption-information
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