Kīlauea eruption has stabilized, alert level dropped from warning to watch
HVO geologists observed the new eruption within Kīlauea summit caldera during an eruption-monitoring overflight the morning of Sept. 11, 2023. The line of vents stretches approximately 0.8 miles. Lava fountain heights have decreased since the eruption onset, but remain up to about 32-50 feet high this morning. PC: USGS photos by J. Schmith.- Geologists wearing protective equipment collected a molten sample of newly erupted material on Monday morning, Sept. 11, 2023. The sample will provide information on magma storage and transport. PC: USGS by M. Patrick.
- HVO geologists observed the new eruption within Kīlauea summit caldera during an eruption-monitoring overflight the morning of Sept. 11, 2023. The line of vents stretches approximately 0.8 miles. Lava fountain heights have decreased since the eruption onset, but remain up to about 32-50 feet high this morning. PC: USGS photos by J. Schmith.
- HVO geologists observed the new eruption within Kīlauea summit caldera during an eruption-monitoring overflight the morning of Sept. 11, 2023. The line of vents stretches approximately 0.8 miles. Lava fountain heights have decreased since the eruption onset, but remain up to about 32-50 feet high this morning. PC: USGS photos by J. Schmith.
- HVO geologists observed the new eruption within Kīlauea summit caldera during an eruption-monitoring overflight the morning of Sept. 11, 2023. The line of vents stretches approximately 0.8 miles. Lava fountain heights have decreased since the eruption onset, but remain up to about 32-50 feet high this morning. PC: USGS photos by J. Schmith.
Update: Keanakākoʻi viewing area is closed
(12:59 p.m., Sept. 11, 2023)
The Keanakākoʻi viewing area is closed due to unsafe air quality. A plume of volcanic smoke contains sulfur dioxide, other gases and shards of volcanic glass that pose a significant risk, according to the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park Service.
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Kīlauea’s volcano alert level is being lowered
The eruption within Kīlauea’s summit caldera that began yesterday afternoon continues, with eruptive activity confined to the down-dropped block and Halemaʻumaʻu crater, according to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.
Kīlauea’s volcano alert level is being lowered from WARNING to WATCH because the style of eruption and fissure location have stabilized, according to HVO scientists. The initial extremely high effusion rates have declined, and no infrastructure is threatened, the HVO reports.
Associated hazards are confined to the closed area established by Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.
HVO is also lowering Kīlauea’s aviation color code from RED to ORANGE because there is currently no threat of significant volcanic ash emission into the atmosphere outside of the hazardous closed area within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.
“The eruption plume, composed largely of sulfur dioxide and minor volcanic particles, continues to rise to the base of the inversion level at about 8,000-10,000 feet (2,400-3,000 meters) above sea level. The plume concentration has decreased some due to the drop in effusion rate, but still remains high,” according to the HVO.
The agency reports that Kīlauea’s summit eruption is expected to continue and remain confined to Kīlauea caldera within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. HVO does not see any indication of activity migrating elsewhere on Kīlauea volcano and expects the eruption to remain confined to the summit region.
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