HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY DAILY UPDATEMonday, February 8, 2010 7:33 AM HST (Monday, February 8, 2010 17:33 UTC) This report on the status of Kilauea volcanic activity, in addition to maps, photos, and webcam images (available using the menu bar above), was prepared by the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO). Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park status can be found at http://www.nps.gov/havo/ or 985-6000. Hawai`i County Viewing Area status can be found at 961-8093. All times are Hawai`i Standard Time. KILAUEA VOLCANO (CAVW #1302-01-) 19°25'16" N 155°17'13" W, Summit Elevation 4091 ft (1247 m) Current Aviation Color Code: ORANGE Current Volcano Alert Level: WATCH Activity Summary for past 24 hours: Kilauea was active at two locations. At the summit, lava was visible via webcam sloshing and spattering within at least two openings in the bottom of a deep pit inset within the floor of Halema`uma`u Crater producing glow that was visible from Jaggar Overlook overnight. At the east rift zone vents, lava flowed through the upper tube system and fed surface flows; the ocean entry has not been active for a month. Sulfur dioxide emission rates from both summit and east rift zone vents remained elevated. Past 24 hours at Kilauea summit: Lava spattered incessantly within at least two openings at the north and south edges of the bottom of a deep pit inset with the floor of Halema`uma`u Crater until the webcam stopped at midnight; the lava surface was slowly rising but remained within the openings. The webcam will be restored as soon as possible. Glow within the gas plume was visible from the Jaggar Museum Overlook. The summit vent gas plume is moving to the southwest this morning. The most recent sulfur dioxide emission rate measurement was 1,200 tonnes/day on February 4, 2010, elevated above the 2003-2007 average of 140 tonnes/day. The summit tiltmeter network recorded weakening DI inflation. GPS receivers on either side of Kilauea caldera are recording extension. Seismic tremor levels have remained relatively steady since 11 am yesterday. The number of RB2S2BL earthquakes was within background values. Seven earthquakes beneath Kilauea were strong enough to be located - two beneath the southwest rift zone, two beneath the summit area, and three on other south flank faults. Past 24 hours at the middle east rift zone vents and flow field: Magma degases through Pu`u `O`o crater before erupting from the TEB vent, located 2 km to the east. The most recent sulfur dioxide emission rate measurement was 1,100 tonnes/day on January 21, 2010, elevated but below the 2003-2007 average of 1,700 tonnes/day. No glow was recorded by webcam within Pu`u `O`o Crater overnight. The tiltmeter on the north flank of Pu`u `O`o recorded weakening DI inflation. GPS receivers on either side of Pu`u `O`o Crater are recording extension of the crater. Seismic tremor levels near the Pu`u `O`o and TEB vents were low and steady. The number of RB2S2BL earthquakes near the Pu`u `O`o and the TEB vents were within background levels. Lava from the TEB vent flowed through the upper portion of the TEB tube system before breaking to the surface and feeding flows above and on the pali. CD officials reported good viewing last night with flows breaking out mid-pali and possible pooling at the pali base. GOES-WEST imagery included strong thermal anomalies on the flow field through dawn suggesting increasing surface flow activity. Maps, photos, webcam views, and other information about Kilauea Volcano are available at http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hvo/activity/kilaueastatus.php. A daily update summary is available by phone at (808) 967-8862. A map with details of earthquakes located within the past two weeks can be found at http://tux.wr.usgs.gov/ A definition of alert levels can be found at http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/activity/alertsystem/index.php Definitions of Terms Used: Halema`uma`u Overlook vent: has been difficult to describe concisely. The vent is actually a pit, or crater, in the floor of the larger Halema`uma`u Crater in the floor of the even larger Kilauea caldera or crater - a crater within a crater within a crater. The pit is about 140 m (460 ft) in diameter at the Halema`uma`u Crater floor, is about 50 m in diameter at the pit floor, and is about 200 m (660 ft) deep. As of November, 2009, a lava pond surface has been visible in a hole in the floor of this pit. glow: light from an unseen source; indirect light. CD: Hawai`i County Civil Defense RB2S2BL earthquakes: earthquakes that were recorded but were too small to be located. These quakes have magnitudes less than 1.7 and may only be recorded by one or two seismometers. Recording at a minimum of 4 seismometer sites is required to locate an earthquake. tonne: metric unit equal to 1,000 kilograms, 2,204.6 lbs, or 1.1 English tons. tephra: all material deposited by fallout from an eruption-related plume, regardless of size. ash: tephra less than 2 mm (5/64 inches) in size. TEB: Thanksgiving Eve Breakout, the designation used for lava flows that started with a breakout on November 21, 2007. microradian: a measure of angle equivalent to 0.000057 degrees. DI tilt event: DI is an abbreviation for 'deflation-inflation' and describes a volcanic event of uncertain significance. DI events are recorded by tiltmeters at Kilauea summit as an abrupt deflation of up to a few microradians in magnitude lasting several hours to 2-3 days followed by an abrupt inflation of approximately equal magnitude. The tilt events are usually accompanied by an increase in summit tremor during the deflation phase. A careful analysis of these events suggests that they may be related to changes in magma supply to a storage reservoir at less than 1 km depth, just east of Halema`uma`u crater. Usually, though not always, these changes propagate through the magma conduit from the summit to the eruption site, as many of the DI events at Kilauea summit are also recorded at a tiltmeter at Pu`u `O`o, delayed by 1-2 hours. DI events often correlate with lava pulses and/or pauses in the eruption at the Pu`u `O`o/July 21/TEB vents. More definitions with photos can be found at http://volcano.wr.usgs.gov/about/pglossary/index.php . The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory is one of five volcano observatories within the U.S. Geological Survey and is responsible for monitoring volcanoes and earthquakes in Hawai`i.