At 8:35pm last night, HVO released an update on Kīlauea’s recent eruption which stated that the summit eruption at Kīlauea has paused. Eruptive activity, which has been confined to Halemaʻumaʻu crater within the summit caldera at Kīlauea, rapidly declined yesterday afternoon around 4:00 p.m.
There was a rapid decline in lava fountaining and effusion at the eruptive vent on the southwest side of Halemaʻumaʻu crater. Vent activity had been vigorous up to that point in the day. Circulation of the southwestern lava lake slowed thereafter, and the lake’s surface dropped by several meters. Some previously erupted lava continues to flow on the crater floor; this may continue over the coming days while the lava cools.
Simultaneous with the decline in vent activity, seismic tremor, a signal resulting from subsurface fluid movement, and commonly associated with eruptive activity, also started dropping around 4:00 p.m yesterday. In addition, tiltmeters in the summit region detected a quick transition to inflationary tilt after tracking steady deflationary tilt since Saturday morning.
No unusual activity has been noted along the East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone; steady but low rates of ground deformation and seismicity continue along both. Measurements from continuous gas monitoring stations in the middle East Rift Zone—the site of 1983–2018 eruptive activity—remain below detection limits for SO2.
HVO will continue to provide updates.