Vast amounts of fresh lava pool in the summit caldera of Maunaloa volcano after less than a day of activity (image: HVO / USGS)
The eruption continues at the summit of Mauna Loa where a lava lake seems to form inside the vast summit caldera. According to the latest update of the volcano observatory, „All vents remain restricted to the summit area. However, lava flows in the summit region are visible from Kona. There is currently no indication of any migration of the eruption into a rift zone.“
It should be added that the situation can change very quickly. Seismic activity under the volcano’s summit region, and more precisely under the upper southwestern rift zone, remains significant. This suggests the possibility that new dikes form underground that eventually could breach the flanks of the volcano, thus evolving the current summit eruption to a flank eruption.
Glow and lava flows in the summit area seen from the southwest (image: HVO / USGS)