HVO reported that during 6 and 9-12 August lava flowed SE through a lava tube system from underneath Kilauea's Thanksgiving Eve Breakout (TEB) and rootless shield complex to the Waikupanaha ocean entry. Occasional explosions and surface lava flows were noted near the ocean entry. A small fountain in a lava pond at the top of one of the rootless shields was observed on 10 August. The sulfur dioxide emission rate at Pu'u 'O'o was 1,700 and 2,400 tonnes per day on 8 and 9 August, respectively; the average background rate is about 2,000 tonnes per day.

During the reporting period, Kilauea earthquakes were variously located beneath Halema'uma'u crater, along the Koa'e fault system, SE and W of the caldera, along the S-flank faults, and along the E and SW rift zones. Beneath Halema'uma'u crater, up to 100 small earthquakes per day (background is 20-40) also occurred but were too small to be located more precisely. The vent in Halema'uma'u crater continued to produce a mainly white plume with minor ash content that drifted SW. The plume was occasionally tinged brown. Night-time incandescence was seen at the base of the plume rock-clattering sounds were heard in the vicinity of the crater. The sulfur dioxide emission rate was high at 900 tonnes per day on 7 August. The pre-2008 background rate was 150-200 tonnes per day.

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)