Day: July 21, 2018

July 20: Word of the Day – “Lavasheds”

July 20, 2018. USGS: “During their early morning overflight, USGS scientists captured this view showing three of the five volcanoes that comprise the Island of Hawai‘i: Mauna Loa (distant upper left), Mauna Kea (distant right), and Kīlauea (foreground), with the fissure 8 vent and channelized lava flow on the volcano’s lower East Rift Zone.” (Full-sized)
Today’s Eruption Summary

The Lower East Rift Zone eruption continues as per usual. USGS reported during today’s morning overflight that “the channel was incandescent its entire length from vent to ocean entry.” There’s a main ocean entry a few hundred meters NE of the southern flow border with smaller pahoehoe flows on either side. The southern margin doesn’t seem to have advanced much from yesterday.

July 20, 2018. USGS: “An aerial view of the southernmost ocean entry lava lobe. As of 6:30 a.m. HST, the south margin of the lava flow had not changed since yesterday, and was about 500 m (0.3 mi) from the boat ramp at Isaac Hale Park.” (

No other fissures are active, and I already covered yesterday’s 4:33 HST collapse event. I’m betting the next one will be after dark.

State Highways have put a speed limit of 25 on Highway 11 between Mile Marker 28 and 30 due to cracks in the road.

The USGS today released a new report for Civil Defense planning: “Fissure 8 Prognosis and Ongoing Hazards”.

“If the ongoing eruption maintains its current style of activity at a high eruption rate, then it may take months to a year or two to wind down.”

Here’s the July 19 thermal map of the LERZ posted this morning.

July 19, 2018. 12 pm USGS thermal map of LERZ. (Full-sized)

Continue reading July 20: Word of the Day – “Lavasheds”