Lava lake close to crater floor

Kilauea’s summit lava lake was nearly overflowing Friday afternoon following a cyclical influx of magma below the volcano.

The lake was approximately 22 feet below the floor of Halema‘uma‘u crater that morning, according to Hawaiian Volcano Observatory’s daily update. That’s the highest it’s been since small overflows were observed Oct. 15.

Janet Babb, HVO spokeswoman, said inflation inside the magma reservoir that had pushed the lake higher was leveling off, and it wasn’t clear if it would continue to climb.

Lava lake levels fluctuate as the volcano switches between inflation and deflation events.

The recent surge, which Babb characterized as small, prompted two new breakouts on the 61g flow from the Pu‘u ‘O‘o vent on the volcano’s East Rift Zone, in addition to flurries of small earthquakes.

“If lava breaks out of a (lava) tube, it’s trying to carry out more than it can handle,” she said.

Babb said this is normal activity for the volcano.

Such breakouts can be short-lived, but they sometimes change activity at the flow’s front.

As of Friday, the breakouts on the Pu‘u ‘O‘o cone and the base of Pulama pali hadn’t appeared to have impacted the Kamokuna ocean entry, where lava is flowing into the sea inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Babb said the lava lake has remained high for the past month, and likely has been visible from the Jagger Overlook during much of that period.

While the recent magma buildup is nothing unusual, HVO geophysicist Ingrid Johanson, who studies these events, said the volcano overall has seen more inflation than deflation for the past five years, suggesting that magma continues to accumulate below the summit.

What this could mean, though, remains to be seen.

“We’re just keeping an eye on things and waiting for the next chapter,” Babb said.

Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.