I fully realize I tend to have a bias towards explosive eruptions - I mean, it is hard to ignore something like this. However, that doesn't mean I should have neglected all the action going on right now in Hawai`i, where basalt lavas are doing that effusive thing they do so well.
The lava lake at the Halema`uma`u Crater has been very active over the last week and a lava flow has been feeding directly into the lava lake. HVO has released some great video of the lava streams entering the lava lake, impressively disrupting the cooling crust of the lava lake. Overall, however, the lava lake levels at the summit crater have been dropping as deflation has continued. Over at Pu`u O`o, the perched lava lake is still active as well. Successive overflows of the perched lava lake have raised the floor of the crater to 128 feet from ...
