Kilauea Eruption Episode 38: Lava Fountains and New Puʻu Growth

Why this matters: The eruption impacts air quality and visibility for nearby residents, and the destruction of monitoring equipment underscores the challenges of studying active volcanoes. The rapid growth of the puʻu demonstrates the speed at which volcanic landscapes can change.

Episode 38 of Kilauea's eruption is characterized by high lava fountains and the continued accumulation of tephra, contributing to the growth of a new puʻu southwest of Halemaʻumaʻu crater. The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) is closely monitoring the puʻu's evolution using GPS and lidar technology.

The south vent became dominant, with fountain heights approaching 1,200 feet. The destruction of the V3 webcam, one of three livestreaming the eruption, provides a stark visual of the eruption's intensity.

Prior to the south vent's dominance, three roughly equal-sized 500-foot-high lava fountains were observed, a rare occurrence during this eruption. Episode 38 produced approximately 13 million cubic yards of lava in the first six hours.

The puʻu's growth has been tracked using various methods, including visual observation, garden stakes, and high-precision GPS measurements. The HVO also utilizes helicopter-mounted airborne lidar to create high-resolution 3D topographic scans of the puʻu. Measurements show significant tephra accumulation during high-fountaining episodes.

Tephra is rock fragments and particles ejected during a volcanic eruption. It includes materials like ash and Pele’s hair.

The USGS Alert Level for Kilauea remains at WATCH, and the Aviation Color Code is ORANGE.

The eruptive activity remains confined to Halemaʻumaʻu crater.

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