The volcano Kilauea, one of the most active in the world, located on the Big Island of Hawaii, began a new eruptive phase last Wednesday.
From its north vent, the Kilauea volcano began to eject lava, marking the most recent event of a continuous eruption that has remained active for nearly six months.
The imposing lava sources reached heights of over 100 meters (330 feet) and from there fed multiple lava streams.
Scientists from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, an integral part of the United States Geological Survey, indicated that there was a high probability that these sources would rise even further.
Kilauea volcano is the most active in the world
This most recent eruptive episode was preceded on Tuesday by a phenomenon known as gas pistoning. In this process, gas accumulates at the top of a lava column within the vent.
The observatory explained that this phenomenon causes the lava surface to rise. “Eventually, the gas escapes as an eruption occurs with splashes/lava, and the lava drains back into the vent,” the observatory detailed on its Facebook page.
These phenomena occurred up to 10 times an hour, but their intensity progressively increased until, a day later, a small sustained dome-shaped source began feeding flows to the crater floor.
This is the twenty-fifth eruptive episode since the Kilauea volcano, located in the southeastern part of the island, began its activity on December 23. Since then, it has been alternating between periods of pause and resumptions of its activity.
Most of these eruptive episodes have ejected lava for approximately a day or less, with pauses between them usually lasting only a few days.
