Hawaiian molten lava continues from crater to sea

Above: In the pre-dawn magic time light, molten rock rivers bust out on a newly forming delta and over the edge into the ocean.Not much has changed along the ocean lava entry points in recent weeks; some new black sand beaches have come and gone and there is a slowly growing lava delta bench forming, as seen in the above image and the photo below:

 Other small changes have to do with the volume of molten lava being sent down from Pu`u O`o crater as magma pressures beneath Kilauea Volcano fluctuate fairly regularly.

(Above: At dusk yesterday: Looking west from Kalapana Gardens: degassing lava tubes and some new surface breakouts east of the tubes)

(Above: My sometimes lava hiking buddy, photographer Ron Boyle sets up for a shot of a breakout under this weeks full moon)

During high-pressure cycles we will see new surface breakouts all the way along the lava tube plumbing system; from above the Pulama Pali all the way down it and across the two-miles of coastal plains to the ocean.

Also the lava flowing into the ocean surges during magma inflation periods.

 That magic pre-dawn light again. All lava photos were taken in the past three days.

Meanwhile;

The other Pu`u O`o lava that has been of concern, the Kahaualeʻa flow, has stagnated apparently, as stated by recent USGS Hawaiian Volcanoes Observatory (HVO)observations. They posted some infrared images on their photos and videos page

The Pu`u O`o Crater is very full of lava now as lava has been erupting out onto the crater’s floor quite often. At 1:00 AM on April 20^th one such eruption was strong enough to reflect brightly onto the clouds as seen in this photo I took from Kalapana Gardens at 1:12 AM that night, seven miles distant.

 You can also see some breakouts of lava on the pali.

I wonder if we will see another large flank rupture soon, or maybe an increase in the lava flowing to the sea.

Halema`uma`u Crater continues broiling with molten lava within its rising and falling lava lake inside.

Below is a shot of Halema`uma`u Crater I snapped while in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park a few days ago. I was surprised how wispy thin the outgassing plume was.

NOTE: Click on any of these images to open a new window with them all and larger view sizes (You can return here by clicking the little X in the upper right of that new window.)
 

I'll offer updates as conditions change~~ Aloha