On 24 September OVPDLF reported that, since 20 September, seismicity, deformation, and gas emissions at Piton de la Fournaise stabilized but remained at high levels. The cone was 30 m high; lava fountains were lower and less frequently observed. A white water vapor plume rose from the vents. Lava flows continued to be active, mainly traveling as far as 3 km S and less than 3 km E. During 22-23 September a new lava tube formed to the W of the lava field.

Since the beginning of the eruption deformation data indicated no deflation. Early on in the eruption the flow rate decreased from 60 cubic meters per second to between 5 and 10; the rate declined during 28 August-7 September and then increased again, starting on 7 September.

Geological Summary. Piton de la Fournaise is a massive basaltic shield volcano on the French island of Réunion in the western Indian Ocean. Much of its more than 530,000-year history overlapped with eruptions of the deeply dissected Piton des Neiges shield volcano to the NW. Three scarps formed at about 250,000, 65,000, and less than 5,000 years ago by progressive eastward slumping, leaving caldera-sized embayments open to the E and SE. Numerous pyroclastic cones are present on the floor of the scarps and their outer flanks. Most recorded eruptions have originated from the summit and flanks of Dolomieu, a 400-m-high lava shield that has grown within the youngest scarp, which is about 9 km wide and about 13 km from the western wall to the ocean on the E side. More than 150 eruptions, most of which have produced fluid basaltic lava flows, have occurred since the 17th century. Only six eruptions, in 1708, 1774, 1776, 1800, 1977, and 1986, have originated from fissures outside the scarps.

Source: Observatoire Volcanologique du Piton de la Fournaise (OVPF)