The collapse pit within the Halema`uma`u Crater at Kilauea taken January 7, 2010. Image courtesy of the USGS/HVO.
Eruptions reader Boris Behncke pointed out that things are afoot in the Halema`uma`u Crater at Kilauea. To steal his description:
" the lava lake returned triumphantly to the active pit last night, and now it is filling virtually the entire field of theHalema'uma'u Overlook webcam."
Sure enough, checking out the webcam this morning, the field of view is dominated by a lava lake - albeit somewhat crusted over by hardened basalt lava. You can compare the current image with one from a similar vantage point taken ~1 week ago and see how much more lava seems to be filling the crater. You can also see that since 1/13, there has been inflation at Kilauea, which might explain some of this new lava arriving in the crater.
(from 1/14/2010) for ...
