Puu Oo is collapsing!

[Bryan]

Of course by now all of you know that for now this was merely Puu Oo being overwhelmed by a sudden surge of magma as the tilt spiked up. The flow quickly slowed and is now at a trickle. The deflation is ongoing be it ever so slow. This type of deflation can lead to blockages in tube systems. Where and to what degree we will find out once an inflation of magma starts. Seeing there have been numerous tremors from the sw rift to the east rift zone the next episode could be most anywhere. I was out at Puu Oo just last week for some exploring figuring that domed lava lake wouldn't last much longer. I could feel the pressure and the strain the vent was under. The west gap pit had a circulating lava pond at the time. I always post warnings at the start of my blog posts not to try and do what I do. You have to be able to recognize the real dangers out there. The upper elevation eruptions are nothing like the slow visitor friendly lava flows near the coast. This episode was a great example of why inexperienced people should stay away from these areas at the source. A flow like that would have killed someone in a flash. The terrain will dictate where the next flow will go. This one was heading towards the turn around at the end of chain of craters rd had it been a true vent eruption. Meaning Puu Oo had maintained its lava. It could still be the new vent if the tilt rises sooner rather than later. Now that entire area is ruined for hiking as this flow is very hollow shelly pahoehoe that will be hot for sometime. If you want true up to date reports and images be sure and visit my blog, website or google+ page and facebook page. I just happened to be monitoring the webcams when this all started on Weds. At 1st it looked like maybe the eastern edge of March's eruption went off again but, it was just the powerful surge of lava hitting the trees and old cinder field. I was there for that one in March. The West Gap Pit erupted in a similar but slower fashion back in 2003. This process could repeat its self over and over for quite some time. It could be a very long time before we ever see another ocean entry. The volcano could very well be going back to the days of frequent short term eruptions like this. These were common prior to 1983. Either way its always exciting and the new webcams make it easy to see in real time.

Hawaii's leading volcano photographer. 20 continuous yrs of experience.