Kilauea Eruption 12/23/24

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

Some bubbling activity at one of the vents, the most in the last 24 hours…

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

Starting again, #51:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXKuUyKt8mc

[ironyak]

Episode 53 underway.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXKuUyKt8mc

Also the Perseid meteor shower peaks tonight so plenty of free light shows going on out there if you can find a clear view.
https://beatofhawaii.com/most-hawaii-vis...best-show/

[MyManao]

Well, with all the other things going on phase 54 of the ongoing series of eruptions at Halemaumau passed, in these hallow halls of discourse, without notice. But hey, there's been a lot going on.. right?

And still, in the background of it all there's a bit one can say.. the events get shorter, the fountain heights not as high, but overall this event has been one of many of a similar profile, when seen as compared here with all the rest on the summit tilt record..



Where ever since the change 11-12 episodes ago from the higher volume, longer lived events that over time showed the summit (in the area of the tilt meter) losing a bit of height over time,  which changed to shorter events with smaller fountains but an accumulating summit height with time, and still, overall, it's been remarkably steady hereabout. We have eruptions, they happen like clockwork, what's to say?

And, as usual, with the end of phase 54 on Tuesday evening BIVN posted an update from HVO which in part said:

An abrupt switch from summit deflation to inflation at the end of the episode, as well as the resumption of low frequency tremor bursts, indicate that another episode is likely in the coming weeks, scientists say.

Which, as anyone who's read these over time has gotten used to, this is a boiler plate the eruption ended inflation resumed statement. Although, now that a little bit of time has passed the sequence that has followed is anything but boiler plate. Here's the tilt for the last week now..



Where it is obvious that after a few hours of the noted inflation after the eruption ended the mountain switched to deflation and is continuing to do so. And, by all accounts, this is the first time since the onset of this eruption series that this has happened.

Note that the plots here are dynamic. They are direct feeds from HVO, and as such will change over time, and the second, one week, plot will only show this change for the next 5 days (after this posting). Although, these both are from the HVO deformation page which can be seen here for a continuous look at the volcano's internal workings through their array of deformation instrumentation.

[kalianna]

I noticed this last night. Very different from previous episodes. The big question is where is the magma going????

[MyManao]

And so, a week since the last eruption and the where’s the magma mystery continues.

In today’s HVO’s update, as posted at:

https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/volcano-updates

Their Analysis begins..

The abrupt switch from summit deflation to inflation at the end of lava fountaining episode 54 and continued seismic tremor bursts from the Halema’uma’u eruptive vents indicate that another lava fountaining episode may occur in the coming weeks. Reinflation has been slow and irregular, having been interrupted by multiple deflations of varying magnitude and duration. Coupled with minimal vent glow, these observations suggest that magma is relatively deep in the vent conduits at this time. HVO will provide a forecast for the next lava fountaining episode once the reinflation pattern stabilizes and there is enough tilt data to model the activity.

And, along with their Rift Zone Observations, which states…

Rates of seismicity and ground deformation remain low in the East Rift Zone and Southwest Rift Zone. SO2emissions from the East Rift Zone remain below the detection limit.

Together, they suggest (to me) there’s a possibility that there’s no incoming magma. Which is to suggest our often thought of continuously fed system, could be, since there is no evidence of magma moving anywhere in the volcano, that there really is no magma moving..

Of course, we don’t have a definitive signal we can point to that says this is a sign of magma moving form the deeper magma chamber to the shallower, and there’s no real solid body of evidence to point to that says this is how magma gets from Halemaumau to the top of the East Rift, and there is nothing we have that says this is how magma gets from that deep cluster of almost continuous earthquakes 20 miles under Pahala (that are thought to be where magma enters the system from the mantle) to the summit. But everything we do have, is pretty silent.

So.. doesn't that sound more like no lava moving rather than the lava is going somewhere else?

It’s just a thought. And while I am at it, and since the plot in my last post above showing one week of tilt is about to lose the end of the last eruption as a reference point, here is the next step back in plots, showing the last three months, with the latest eruption and the now irregularly flat signal at the moment on it’s right side..


And to those that can grok it.. all hale to Pele and whatever she does, or doesn't do. After all, she's magnificent regardless. Seriously, have you ever had breakfast at the Volcano House, and just sat there, staring out the windows and had that hit.. with Mauna Loa in the background, and the summit of Kilauea laid out before you and thought.. this is frickin' amazing and I am really sitting here.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

Not erupting, but 5 new vents:

https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/septem...it-kilauea

[HiloJulie]

Seems it didn't last long. All 5 plugged up, or as they say "stagnated."

Update: All five new vents stagnated last night, postponing Episode 55 of the Halemaʻumaʻu eruption : Big Island Now

[leilanidude]

Together, they suggest (to me) there’s a possibility that there’s no incoming magma.
----------
Your thoughts on if it is being diverted over to Kamaʻehuakanaloa Seamount, formerly known as Lōʻihi?
Have not heard much of anything on that one since the renaming.

[MyManao]

Interesting question.. if tremor.. especially these short tremor bursts (as opposed to sustained tremor) we’re seeing lately, with its particular shaped signal, indicates vibrations made by the movement of magma, and the higher the amplitude (bigger signal) the larger amount of magma moving, and the longer the signal, the longer period of time the magma is in motion, what physical conditions could be happening to create the signal seen in this seismograph?

Here we see tremor bursts that are all about the same amplitude, last about a minute, and come in extremely regular three and a half to four minute cycles. There is no really overall pronounced inflation or deflation going on at the same time..  the tilt’s been relatively flat all night.. and the magma that was poised to erupt, with spattering at the main vents, seems to have backed off some after the new vents opened up and bled off a little magma. 

So, what could cause such a regular steady release of a specific amount of magma? Some mechanism by which so much accumulates and then is release. A steady cyclic process that is like the mountains heartbeat..? Tick tick tick.

I post a snapshot of this particularly odd seismic signal, instead of my usual inline dynamically changing source so as to preserve this one.. what a marvelous mystery..