Napau-Pu`u O`o rift eruption on Kilauea now over 2 km long

Activity along the newly-formed rift that opened between Napau and Pu`u O`o craters this weekend continues to be active. It isn't in constant eruption, but it does cycle through periods of heightened activity and according to the Hawaii Volcano Observatory, some of the fire fountains have sent lava shooting skyward as much as 30 m / ~100 feet. Coming along with the lava is extremely elevated sulfur dioxide emissions, from the recent baseline of ~700 tonnes/day to now over 10,000 tonnes/day. This suggests that the magma is readily degassing under the new rift - and all this fire fountaining supports the idea that this injection of magma might be very gas-rich. Apparently it is still unclear whether the rift eruption is a brand new injection of magma or diverted lava from the weekend's collapses/draindowns. Also, all of the downrift activity from Pu`u O`o, such as the Thanksgiving Eve Breakout, seems ...