Based on field observations, and web camera views when weather permitted, HVO reported that during 6-12 February activity from Kilauea's fissure segment D was concentrated at the perched lava channel, the Thanksgiving Eve Breakout (TEB) shield, and satellitic shields to the SE. Lava flows issued from the tops and flanks of the shields. Lava in the original perched lava channel, formed from the 21 July fissure eruption, overflowed the NW and reached a forested area on 8 February; smoke was seen through the web camera. Incandescence was observed in Pu'u 'O'o crater for less than 10 minutes at a time every day during 6-8 February. A few earthquakes were located beneath the summit, the adjacent flank of Mauna Loa, and along the S-flank faults.

Geological Summary. Kilauea overlaps the E flank of the massive Mauna Loa shield volcano in the island of Hawaii. Eruptions are prominent in Polynesian legends; written documentation since 1820 records frequent summit and flank lava flow eruptions interspersed with periods of long-term lava lake activity at Halemaumau crater in the summit caldera until 1924. The 3 x 5 km caldera was formed in several stages about 1,500 years ago and during the 18th century; eruptions have also originated from the lengthy East and Southwest rift zones, which extend to the ocean in both directions. About 90% of the surface of the basaltic shield volcano is formed of lava flows less than about 1,100 years old; 70% of the surface is younger than 600 years. The long-term eruption from the East rift zone between 1983 and 2018 produced lava flows covering more than 100 km2, destroyed hundreds of houses, and added new coastline.

Source: US Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO)