Sunday, December 13, 2009

Clear Skies & Gentle Trades ~ Inflation on Rise ~ Maps of Lava Flows

Gentle northeasterly Trade Winds move across the Island under coastal clear skies and mauka clouds. This might hold a few more days forecasters predict.


As the graph shows, deformation is continuing to register steady inflation; increased magma pressures with Kilauea Volcano magmatic chambers. Lava entering the ocean at Waikupanaha shorelines has been quite visible but subdued for the past four days compared with the average display there, but this renewed inflation, if it continues, should bring back a little more excitement in the days ahead.

Below are two US Geological Service lava flow maps. These show the recent active flows in red and the location of the underground lava tubes feeding the coastal entries.
(Click on these images for larger image). The maps have not been updated to indicate how the more easterly & newest tube system crosses the original Waikupanaha tube a little further down – feeding the new & broad ocean entries named Waikupanaha-West.




Some volcanologists are suggesting that the newer, shallower tube may burn through into the lower and older tube, producing some fountaining of lava or other excitement.

Lava drips off the pali directly into the sea:

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