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HVO News Release - 05 March 2011 -- Puu Oo crater floor collapse-ERZ eruption
Janet Babb jbabb@usgs.gov
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News Release
U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Geological Survey
National Park Service
Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
For Release: March 5, 2011, 6:30 p.m.
Contact:
Janet Babb, 808-967-8844, jbabb@usgs.gov
Mardie Lane, 808-985-6018, Mardie_Lane@nps.gov
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Pu'u 'O'o crater floor collapse followed by middle east rift zone eruption
HAWAI'I ISLAND, Hawaii - At 1:42 p.m. HST this afternoon, USGS
Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) monitoring network detected the
onset of rapid deflation at Pu'u 'O'o and increased tremor along
Kilauea Volcano's middle east rift zone. At 2:00 p.m., Kilauea's
summit also began to deflate.
Between 2:16 and 2:21 p.m., the floor of the Pu'u 'O'o crater began to
collapse, and within 10 minutes, incandescent ring fractures opened on
the crater floor a few tens of meters away from the crater wall. As
the floor continued to drop, lava appeared in the center of the crater
floor, the northeast spatter cone within Pu'u 'O'o collapsed, and an
obvious scarp developed on the west side of the crater floor, with
lava cascading over the scarp toward the center of the crater.
At 2:41 p.m., the scarp on the west side of the crater floor appeared
to disintegrate, exposing incandescent rubble. Five minutes later,
the collapse of a large block along the east crater wall produced a
dust plume.
Webcam images showed that the Pu'u 'O'o crater floor continued to drop
through 4:26 p.m., when fume obscured the camera view. HVO Webcam
images can be accessed at http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hvo/cams/.
Coincident with the collapse in Pu'u 'O'o, an earthquake swarm began
along Kilauea's middle east rift zone in the area of Maka`opuhi and
Napau Craters. Tiltmeters showed east rift zone deflation, which
continues as of this writing.
At 5:15 p.m., an HVO geologist flying over Kilauea's middle east zone
reported "an eruption in Napau Crater." The eruption is now known to
be located between Napau Crater and Pu'u 'O'o.
Updates on the status of this eruption will be posted on HVO's Web
site at http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hvo/activity/kilaueastatus.php.
According to Jim Kauahikaua, HVO's Scientist-in-Charge, "This event is
remarkably similar to a 1997 eruption in and near Napau Crater, which
lasted less than 24 hours."
Kilauea's summit also continues to deflate, and the lava lake level
within the Halema'uma'u Crater vent continues to drop, facilitating
rockfalls from the vent wall.
In response to the current volcanic conditions, Hawai'i Volcanoes
National Park has closed the Chain of Craters Road and all east rift
zone and coastal trails, along with the Kulanaokuaiki campground,
until further notice.
Daily updates about Kilauea's ongoing eruptions, recent images and
videos of summit and east rift zone volcanic activity, and data about
recent earthquakes are posted on the HVO Web site at
http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov.
The USGS provides science for a changing world. For more information,
visit www.usgs.gov.
Subscribe to USGS News Releases via our electronic mailing list or RSS feed.
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