Video: Episode 36 Kīlauea eruption marked by dual fountains and ‘volnado’
Episode 36 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption ended abruptly at 4:16 p.m. HST on November 9 after just under 5 hours of continuous fountaining.
Maui photographer Alyssa Lee ( @alee_maui_photography) captured the following images of what she described as a “volnado” emerging near the eruption site. https://www.facebook.com/reel/828677986473446
The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports the north vent stopped erupting at approximately 3:38 p.m. HST. The south vent dropped from 1000 to 500 feet around 3:48 p.m. HST and held steady for a while. The south vent slowly declined and eventually stopped erupting at approximately 4:16 p.m. HST, marking the end of the episode.
Lava fountains reached a maximum of 1000-1100 ft during this episode, according to the HVO. The episode 36 fountains lasted for just over 5 hours and produced an estimated 10-11 million cubic yards of lava. The combined average eruption rate was over 650 cubic yards per second from the dual fountains, which is the highest effusion rate recorded during this eruption. Lava flows from the fountains covered about 60- 80% of the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu crater.
Volcanic gas emissions have greatly decreased. Lava flows from this episode on the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu within the southern part of Kaluapele (Kīlauea caldera) may continue to exhibit slow movement or incandescence as they cool and solidify over the coming days, according to the latest event recap.
The Uēkahuna tiltmeter (UWD) recorded just over 23 microradians of deflationary tilt during this episode, following the beginning of fountaining at 11:19 a.m this morning. this morning. The end of the eruption was coincident with a flattening of summit tilt and a decrease in seismic tremor intensity. Past episodes have been followed by rapid inflationary tilt, and we expect that change to occur soon.
Most episodes of Halemaʻumaʻu lava fountaining since the eruption started on Dec. 23, 2024, have continued for around a day or less and have been separated by pauses in eruptive activity lasting generally at least several days.
- Timeline of eruptive episodes since Dec. 23, 2024: https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/science/eruption-information
- Three Kīlauea summit livestream videos are available here: https://www.youtube.com/@usgs/streams
No changes have been detected in the East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone.
Kīlauea Volcano Alert Level/Aviation Color Code remain at WATCH/ORANGE. All current and recent activity is within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.
Sponsored Content
Subscribe to our Newsletter
Comments
