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	Volcano Watch Volcano Watch is a weekly newsletter written by the scientists at the US Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. It is published in the Hawaii Tribune-Herald's Sunday newspaper and the West Hawai'i Today's Monday newspaper, and posted here the following Monday or Tuesday. While primarily addressed to the residents of the Big Island of Hawai`i, some articles may have a broader scope. Article topics may range from volcanic features on the Big Island, volcanic hazards, informational topics of Long Valley, Montserrat, or Alaska, to topics about the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. Latest Issue: November 13, 2008: Surface deformation at Kilauea's summit is a moving target Previous Issue: November 6, 2008: Halema`uma`u Crater Ringed by Remains of Old Lava Lake Kīlauea Eruption Status Kīlauea Volcano continues to be active. A vent in Halema`uma`u Crater is erupting elevated amounts of sulfur dioxide gas and very small amounts of ash. Resulting high concentrations of sulfur dioxide in downwind air have closed the south part of Kīlauea caldera and produced occasional air quality alerts in more distant areas, such as Pahala and communities adjacent to Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, during kona wind periods. The have been several small ash-emission events from the vent, lasting only minutes, in the last week. Pu`u `Ō`ō continues to produce sulfur dioxide at even higher rates than the vent in Halema`uma`u Crater. Trade winds tend to pool these emissions along the West Hawai`i coast, while Kona winds blow these emissions into communities to the north, such as Mountain View, Volcano, and Hilo. Lava continues to erupt from the Thanksgiving Eve Breakout (TEB) vent and flows toward the ocean through a well-established lava tube. Lava breakouts in the Royal Gardens subdivision have been active throughout the past week, sending small flows several hundred yards southward onto the coastal plain. Activity at the Waikupanaha ocean entry has fluctuated over the past week. A deflation-inflation (DI) event at the summit led to a brief reduction in activity at the ocean entry on Wednesday, November 12. Be aware that active lava deltas can collapse at any time, potentially generating large explosions. This may be especially true during times of rapidly changing lava supply conditions. Do not venture onto the lava deltas. Even the intervening beaches are susceptible to large waves generated during delta collapse; avoid these beaches. In addition, steam plumes rising from ocean entries are highly acidic and laced with glass particles. Check Civil Defense Web site (http://www.lavainfo.us) or call 961-8093 for viewing hours. Mauna Loa is not erupting. One earthquake was located beneath the summit this past week. Continuing extension between locations spanning the summit indicates slow inflation of the volcano. One earthquake beneath Hawai`i Island was reported felt within the past week. A magnitude-2.7 earthquake occurred at 10:52 a.m., H.s.t., on Friday, November 7, 2008, and was located 12 km (7 miles) southwest of Kilauea summit at a depth of 30 km ( 19 miles). Visit our Web site (http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov) for daily Kīlauea eruption updates, a summary of volcanic events over the past year, and nearly real-time Hawai`i earthquake information. Kīlauea daily update summaries are also available by phone at (808) 967-8862. Questions can be emailed to askHVO@usgs.gov. The Volcano Watch Archive Search Text to Search For: Boolean: AND OR Case Insensitive Sensitive || 1994 || 1995 || 1996 || 1997 || 1998 || 1999 || 2000 || 2001 || 2002 || 2003 || 2004 || 2005 || 2006 || 2007 || 2008 || Other articles || USGS, HVO would like to thank Gerard Fryer at SOEST for doing a great job posting, archiving, and maintaining our Volcano Watch articles on their website from December 30, 1994 through March 6, 1998. The URL of this page is http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch/ Contact: hvowebmaster@usgs.gov Updated: November 21, 2008 (pnf)