May 29, 2016 Perched Pond Overflow
The recent eruption near the Pu’u ‘O’o vent continues with still more surprises. Last Tuesday massive lava flows emerged just east of the vent, and send an enormous amount of lava to the north and south from near the perched pond just below Pu’u ‘O’o. Lava continues to flow there, in each direction, about a half mile from the source to the distal tips… but is spreading now, rather than advancing. Interestingly, the northern flow was mostly inactive this morning, the southern lobe increasing in activity. Surface lava on both flows seems to wax and wane from day to day, hour to hour. In addition, the perched pond was folding and stretching, in typical lava lake fashion, and sending lava flows coursing to the east from the pond itself. We documented an amazing overflow from the lake onto the new flow field. Remarkably, there is still a small amount of lava active in the northern forest. We were unable to access the Pu’u ‘O’o vent, due to its heavy plume and steam from recent rainfall. thus continuing to reduce even further the threat to communities to the north and east. More outbreaks of lava were noted this morning toward the middle of the flow field rather than near the north forest. Leilani the Hula Girl and Lava Ducky loved the show, along with special guest, Tom Kuali`i. Bruce Omori and I enjoyed the superb skills of Paradise Helicopters’ excellent pilot, Rob Mitchell. All activity remains over two miles away from the closest infrastructure, and is not threatening any communities at this time.
Mahalo to Paradise Helicopters and Bruce Omori at Extreme Exposure