Hawaiian Volcano Update: Kīlauea Summit Eruption’s Episode 8 - February 6, 2025

During the past week, episode 8 of Kīlauea’s summit eruption started on Monday night, with lava fountains peaking over 330 feet or 100 meters high and covering over half of Halemaʻumaʻu crater floor over its 21.5 hour duration. Fountaining began first at the north vent at 9:52pm, with the south vent also erupting 2 hours later; fountaining also stopped first at the north vent, followed by the south vent 15 minutes later. The volcano shows the same signs of the cycle of recharge seen during previous pauses, and if the inflation rate holds steady the next episode would be most likely between Saturday, February 8 and Tuesday, February 11.

The gas emissions from the recent pulse have been swirling around the island, widely lowering air quality despite the lack of continuing high emissions. SO2 emissions rates are estimated around 10,000 tonnes per day during eruptions and around 1,000 tonnes per day during the pauses, a significant increase above our already high (for people) background emission levels. Thus the vog may persist over the next week and continue to pose the greatest hazard to people, especially those with respiratory sensitivities. Higher lava fountains also bring the continued hazard of Pele’s hairs for nearby viewers and communities. Vog hazards are not new to island residents, and the usual precautions and preparations apply – more information at https://vog.ivhhn.org/.

The ongoing summit eruption, even with its episodes and pauses, continues to relieve stresses on Kīlauea’s rift zones, which have remained relatively quiet with no major seismicity or ground deformation since more than a week before the current eruption. The volcano’s south flank still shows its typical seismicity, mostly unchanged during the eruption.

Maunaloa continues to inflate quietly its established post-eruption pattern, with nothing new to report. As usual, we summarize the monitoring signals, imagery, and reports available courtesy of the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, annotating the presentation on screen as we go and discussing live viewer questions. 

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