During 6-12 January, HVO reported that lava flows from Kilauea's Thanksgiving Eve Breakout (TEB) and rootless shield complex were seen above the pali by observers, or detected in satellite images. Lava did not enter the ocean at Waikupanaha. Incandescence was seen almost daily coming from multiple locations in Pu'u 'O'o crater. The vent in Halema'uma'u crater continued to produce a plume that drifted SW, N, and NE, dropping small amounts of ash, and occasionally fresh spatter, downwind. The NE-drifting plume resulted in poor air quality in some communities on 9 January. Incandescence originated from an active and sometimes sloshing lava surface within an opening on the deep floor of the vent cavity.

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)