Magnetic studies on Kilauea Iki lava lake,Hawaii

Ground surveys made during August, 1961, show large vertical magnetic intensity anomalies associated with the partly lava filled crater of Kilauea Iki. A vertical magnetic variation of 11,600 gammas occurs along a north-south profile across the crater, the maximum being on the north rim of the crater and the minimum on the south edge of the encrusted lava lake below the south rim. An east-west profile shows less vertical magnetic variation, with lake-surface measurements 1500 to 2500 gammas lower than measurements on the east rim of the crater. Computed anomalies using two-dimensional potential field graticules are in good agreement with the observed anomalies and support the following conclusions: 1) Average measured values of remanent magnetization of 10^?2 cgs units and susceptibilities of 10^?3 cgs units give reasonable magnitudes to the computed anomalies. 2) The remanent magnetization is parallel to the earth’s present magnetic field. 3) The maximum vertical magnetic field value in the north-south profile is the result of reinforcement of the positive terrain effect of the north rim of the crater and the positive edge effect of the north side of the lava lake. 4) The minimum value in the same profile is the result of reinforcement of the negative terrain effect at the base of the south rim of the crater and the negative edge effect of the south side of the lava lake. 5) Variation in the east-west magnetic profile is less because the terrain and edge effects of the horizontal components of the earth’s magnetic field and remanent magnetization approach zero. Changes in vertical magnetic field values as the lake solidifies will be maximum at the north edge of the lava lake, but more consistent changes of the opposite sign will occur on the south side of the lava lake. Total change will be approximately + 2300 gammas between the August 1961 measurement at station S6 and the value at that point when the entire lava lake has cooled below 400° C. The maximum rate of change at station S6 will occur when the 500° C isotherm is 35 to 65 meters below the surface and will be about 28 gammas per meter of lowering of the 500°C surface. Because of the steep magnetic anomalies associated with the lava lake and crater rims, the permanent magnetization presently forming in the cooling lake crust will have inclinations as much as 12° less than the average 37.5° inclination in the Kilauea area.     

Seismic structure and seismicity of the cooling lava lake of Kilauea Iki, Hawaii

The use of multiple methods is indispensable for the determination of the seismic properties of a complex body such as a partially solidified lava lake. The combined results from various active and passive experiments conducted on Kilauea Iki in March 1976 suggest a rather thin (less than 10 m) zone of residual melt, the lateral extent of which is delineated by a sharp drop in the activity of seismic events occurring within the crust of the lake. The heavily fractured crust is characterized by P velocities ranging from 0.8 to 2.2 km/s and the P velocity could be even lower in the melt possibly because of the presence of gas bubbles. The present seismicity of the lake is compatible with the formation of tensile cracks caused by contraction due to cooling.     

Magma dynamics, crystallization, and chemical differentiation of the 1959 Kilauea Iki lava lake, Hawaii, revisited

Using constraints from an extensive database of geological and geochemical observations along with results from fluid mechanical studies of convection in magma chambers, we identify the main physical processes at work during the solidification of the 1959 Kilauea Iki lava lakes. In turn, we investigate their quantitative influence on the crystallization and chemical differentiation of the magma, and on the development of the internal structure of the lava lake. In contrast to previous studies, vigorous stirring in the magma, driven predominately by the descent of dense crystal-laden thermal plumes from the roof solidification front and the ascent of buoyant compositional plumes due to the in situ growth of olivine crystals at the floor, is predicted to have been an inevitable consequence of very strong cooling at the roof and floor. The flow is expected to have caused extensive but imperfect mixing over most of the cooling history of the magma, producing minor compositional stratification at the roof and thermal stratification at the floor. The efficient stirring of the large roof cooling is expected to have resulted in significant internal nucleation of olivine crystals, which ultimately settled to the floor. Additional forcing due to either crystal sedimentation or the ascent of gas bubbles is not expected to have increased significantly the amount of mixing. In addition to convection in the magma, circulation driven by the convection of buoyant interstitial melt in highly permeable crystal-melt mushes forming the roof and the floor of the lava lake is envisaged to have produced a net upward flow of evolved magma from the floor during solidification. In the floor zone, mush convection may have caused the formation of axisymmetric chimneys through which evolved magma drained from deep within the floor into the overlying magma and potentially the roof. We hypothesize that the highly evolved, pipe-like ‘vertical olivine-rich bodies’ (VORBs) [Bull. Volcanol. 43 (1980) 675] observed in the floor zone, of the lake are fossil chimneys. In the roof zone, buoyant residual liquid both produced at the roof solidification front and gained from the floor as a result of incomplete convective mixing is envisaged to have percolated or ‘leaked‘ into the overlying highly-permeable cumulate, displacing less buoyant interstitial melt downward. The results from Rayleigh fractionation-type models formulated using boundary conditions based on a quantitative understanding of the convection in the magma indicate that most of the incompatible element variation over the height of the lake can be explained as a consequence of a combination of crystal settling and the extensive but imperfect convective mixing of buoyant residual liquid released from the floor solidification front. The remaining chemical variation is understood in terms of the additional influences of mush convection in the roof and floor on the vertical distribution of incompatible elements. Although cooling was concentrated at the roof of the lake, the floor zone is found to be thicker than the roof zone, implying that it grew more quickly. The large growth rate of the floor is explained as a consequence of a combination of the substantial sedimentation of olivine crystals and more rapid in situ crystallization due to both a higher liquidus temperature and enhanced cooling resulting from imperfect thermal and chemical mixing.     

Crystallization history of Kilauea Iki lava lake as seen in drill core recovered in 1967–1979

Kilauea Iki lava lake formed during the 1959 summit eruption, one of the most picritic eruptions of Kilauea Volcano in the twentieth century. Since 1959 the 110 to 122 m thick lake has cooled slowly, developing steadily thickening upper and lower crusts, with a lens of more molten lava in between. Recent coring dates, with maximum depths reached in the center of the lake, are: 1967 (26.5 m). 1975 (44.2 m), 1976 (46.0 m) and 1979 (52.7 m). These depths define the base of the upper crust at the time of drilling. The bulk of the core consists of a gray, olivine-phyric basalt matrix, which locally contains coarser-grained diabasic segregation veins. The most important megascopic variation in the matrix rock is its variation in olivine content. The upper 15 m of crust is very olivine-rich. Abundance and average size of olivine decrease irregularly downward to 23 m; between 23 and 40 m the rock contains 5–10% of small olivine phenocrysts. Below 40 m. olivine content and average grainsize rise sharply. Olivine contents remain high (20–45%, by volume) throughout the lower crust, except for a narrow (< 6 m) olivine depleted zone near the basalt contact. Petrographically the olivine phenocrysts in Kilauea Iki can be divided into two types. Type 1 phenocrysts are large (1–12 mm long), with irregular blocky outlines, and often contain kink bands. Type 2 crystals are relatively small (0.5–2 mm in length), euhedral and undeformed. The variations in olivine content of the matrix rock are almost entirely variations in the amount of type 1 olivines. Sharp mineral layering of any sort is rare in Kilauea Iki. However, the depth range 41–52 m is marked by the frequent occurrence of steeply dipping (70°–90°) bands or bodies of slightly vuggy olivine-rich rock locally capped with a small cupola of segregation-vein material. In thin section there is clear evidence for relative movement of melt and crystals within these structures. The segregation veins occur only in the upper crust. The most widely distributed (occurring from 4.5–59.4 m) are thin veins (most < 5 cm thick), which cut the core at moderate angles and appear to have been derived from the immediately adjacent wall-rock by filter pressing. There is also a series of thicker (0.1–1.5 m) segregation veins, which recur every 2–3 m, between 20 and 52 m. These have subhorizontal contacts and appear, from similarities in thickness and spacing, to correlate between drill holes as much as 100 m apart. These large veins are not derived from the adjacent wallrock: their mechanism of formation is still problematical. The total thickness of segregation veins in Kilauea Iki is 3–6 m in the central part of the lake, corresponding to 6–11% of the upper crust. Whole-rock compositions for Kilauea Iki fall into two groups: the matrix rock ranges from 20-7.5% MgO, while the segregation veins all contain between 6.0 and 4.5% MgO. There are no whole-rock compositions of intermediate MgO content. Samples from < 12 m show eruption-controlled chemistry. Below that depth, matrix rock compositions have higher Al₂O₃, TiO₂ and alkalies, and lower CaO and FeO, at a given MgO content than do the eruption pumices. The probable causes of this are assimilation of low-melting components from foundered crust, plus removal of olivine, plus removal of minor augite, for rocks with MgO contents of < 8.0%. Given the observed rate of growth of the upper crust, one can infer that significant removal of the type 1 olivine phenocrysts from the upper part of the lake began in 1963 and ceased sometime prior to 1972. The process. probably gravitative settling, appears to have been inhibited earlier by gas streaming from the lower part of the lens of melt. The olivine cumulate zone, which extends into the upper crust, contains relatively few (25–40%) olivine crystals, few of which actually touch each other. The diffuseness of the cumulate zone raises the possibility that the crystals were coated with a relatively visous boundary layer of melt which moved with them. Calculations of the Stokes’ law settling rates of the largest olivine crystals found at the base of the crust in 1975–76 suggest that the «melt» had a viscosity of > 10⁶ poises, and probably had the properties of a Bingham body, rather than a Newtonian fluid, by that date, which was several years after olivine removal ceased.     

Establishment of chemical equilibrium in the volcanic gas obtained from the lava lake of Kilauea,Hawaii

The establishment of gaseous chemical equilibrium in gases obtained from Kilauea lava lake was studied. Using Shepherd’s elaborate analytical data, we examined six chemical reactions in the gas phase and concluded that they were in equilibrium. The gases reflected the « quenched » equilibrium conditions of temperature within a range from 1,000° C to 1,200° C under 1 atmosphere. The gas samples had been collected over a period of three years in different localities of the same lava lake. Although the analytical result was varied considerably for each sample, the establishment of chemical equilibrium was confirmed in five of the six reactions, the exception being due to sulfur trioxide in the sixth.     

Dynamics of a confined lava flow on Kilauea volcano,Hawaii

This paper presents a new method of analysing lava flow deposits which allows the velocity, discharge rate and rheological properties of channelled moving lavas to be calculated. The theory is applied to a lava flow which was erupted on Kilauea in July 1974. This flow came from a line of fissures on the edge of the caldera and was confined to a pre-existing gully within 50 m of leaving the vent. The lava drained onto the floor of the caldera when the activity stopped, but left wall and floor deposits which showed that the lava banked up as it flowed around each of the bends. Field surveys established the radius of curvature of each bend and the associated lava levels, and these data, together with related field and laboratory measurements, are used to study the rheology of the lava. The results show the flow to have been fast moving but still laminar, with a mean velocity of just over 8 m s^–1; the lava had a low or negligible yield strength and viscosities in the range 85–140 Pa s. An extension of the basic method is considered, and the possibility of supercritical flow discussed.     

Temperature of an active lava channel from spectral measurements,Kilauea Volcano,Hawaii

A narrow band spectroradiometer was used to determine the characteristic temperatures of a very active channeled lava flow for the phase 50 eruption of Pu'u 'O'o on the East Rift Zone of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii. During the twilight of 19 February 1992, 14 spectra of this activity were acquired over a 51 minute interval [18.29 to 19.20 Hawaiian Standard Time (HST)], from which the thermal distribution of energy of two 18 m² areas, one near the center and one near the margin of the flow, may be investigated. A twocomponent thermal mixing model applied to the data taken of the center of the channel gave, in the most powerful instance (1.8x10⁵ W/m²), a crust temperature of 940° C, a hot component temperature of 1120°C and a hot radiating area of 60% of the total area. A simultaneous spectrum acquired near the channeled flow margin yielded a crust temperature of 586° C and a hot area of only 1.2% of the total area radiating at 1130° C. Average radiant flux densities recorded for the center of the lava channel (1.3x10⁵ W/m² average) are much greater than previous measurements of lava lakes (4.9x10³ W/m²) or recently emplaced lava flows (maximum of 7.2x10⁴ W/m²). The energetic nature of this eruption is shown by satellite measurements made at 02.33 HST on 22 February 1992 by the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer in Band 2 (0.72–1.10 m). These show the utility of using existing satellites with moderate resolution (1 km x 1 km pixels) and high temporal coverage (eight overpasses each day for Hawaii) as potential thermal alarms for rapidly assessing the hazard potential of large volcanic eruptions.     

Development of lava tubes in the light of observations at Mauna Ulu,Kilauea Volcano,Hawaii

During the 1969–1974 Mauna Ulu eruption on Kilauea's upper east rift zone, lava tubes were observed to develop by four principal processes: (1) flat, rooted crusts grew across streams within confined channels; (2) overflows and spatter accreted to levees to build arched roofs across streams; (3) plates of solidified crust floating downstream coalesced to form a roof; and (4) pahoehoe lobes progressively extended, fed by networks of distributaries beneath a solidified crust. Still another tube-forming process operated when pahoehoe entered the ocean; large waves would abruptly chill a crust across the entire surface of a molten stream crossing through the surf zone. These littoral lava tubes formed abruptly, in contrast to subaerial tubes, which formed gradually. All tube-forming processes were favored by low to moderate volume-rates of flow for sustained periods of time. Tubes thereby became ubiquitous within the pahoehoe flows and distributed a very large proportionof the lava that was produced during this prolonged eruption. Tubes transport lava efficiently. Once formed, the roofs of tubes insulate the active streams within, allowing the lava to retain its fluidity for a longer time than if exposed directly to ambient air temperature. Thus the flows can travel greater distances and spread over wider areas. Even though supply rates during most of 1970–1974 were moderate, ranging from 1 to 5 m³/s, large tube systems conducted lava as far as the coast, 12–13 km distant, where they fed extensive pahoehoe fields on the coastal flats. Some flows entered the sea to build lava deltas and add new land to the island. The largest and most efficient tubes developed during periods of sustained extrusion, when new lava was being supplied at nearly constant rates. Tubes can play a major role in building volcanic edifices with gentle slopes because they can deliver a substantial fraction of lava erupted at low to moderate rates to sites far down the flank of a volcano. We conclude, therefore, that the tendency of active pahoehoe flows to form lava tubes is a significant factor in producing the common shield morphology of basaltic volcanoes.     

Deformation measurements on Kilauea volcano,Hawaii

Repeated electronic distance measurements across Kilauea Caldera with Tellurometers and Geodimeter show definite horizontal expansion related to the vertical uplift and outward tilting of the summit prior to an eruption, and contraction during and after a flank eruption. Measurements started in October 1964, along a 3098 meter line between Uwekahuna and Keanakakoi, indicate a relatively uniform lengthening of 12 centimeters during the interval October 22, 1964 to March 1, 1965. Rapid shortening of the line by 28 centimeters was measured 4 days after the beginning of a flank eruption which involved emission of approximately 29 million cubic meters of lava during the period March 5 to March 15, 1965. During the expansion, the standard deviation of 10 Tellurometer measurements from a least-squares srtaight line solution is ± 2.0 centimeters (6.5 ppm) whereas 9 Geodimeter measurements have a standard deviation of ± 1.1 (3.6 ppm) centimeters. Absolute distance readings between the two instruments differ by 4 centimeters (13 ppm), but relative changes in distance were the same on both instruments. Changes in distance across Kilauea Caldera can, therefore, be easily measured to accuracies of 4 to 7 parts per million with standard electronic distance measuring systems. On active volcanoes where ground surface deformation exceeds 10–100 parts per million with changes in subsurface magma pressure or volume, repeated horizontal distance measurements can be a most useful technique.     

Distribution of thermal areas on an active lava flow field: Landsat observations of Kilauea,Hawaii, July 1991

A Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) image acquired on 23 July 1991 recorded widespread activity associated with the Episode 48 of the Pu'u 'O'o-Kupaianaha eruption of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii. The scene contains a very large number (>3500) of thermally elevated near infrared (0.8–2.35 m) pixels (each 900 m²), which enable the spatial distribution of volcanic activity to be identified. This activity includes a lava lake within Pu'u 'O'o cone, an active lava tube system (7.9 km in length) with skylights between the Kupaianaha lava shield and several ocean entry points, and extensive active surface flows (total area of 1.3 km²) within a much larger area of cooling flows (total16 km²). The production of an average flux density map from the TM data of the flow field, wherein the average flux density is defined in units of Wm^-2, allows for the chronology of emplacement of active and cooling flows to be determined. The flux density map reveals that there were at least three breakouts (>5000 Wm^-2) feeding active flows, but on the day that the data were collected the TM recorded a waning phase of surface activity in this area, based on the relatively large amount of intermediate power-emitting (cooling) flows compared to high power-emitting (active) flows. The production of a comparable flux density map for future eruptions would aid in the assessment of volcanic hazards if the data were available in near-real time.     

Mechanism of explosive eruptions of Kilauea Volcano,Hawaii

A small explosive eruption of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii, occurred in May 1924. The eruption was preceded by rapid draining of a lava lake and transfer of a large volume of magma from the summit reservoir to the east rift zone. This lowered the magma column, which reduced hydrostatic pressure beneath Halemaumau and allowed groundwater to flow rapidly into areas of hot rock, producing a phreatic eruption. A comparison with other events at Kilauea shows that the transfer of a large volume of magma out of the summit reservoir is not sufficient to produce a phreatic eruption. For example, the volume transferred at the beginning of explosive activity in May 1924 was less than the volumes transferred in March 1955 and January–February 1960, when no explosive activity occurred. Likewise, draining of a lava lake and deepening of the floor of Halemaumau, which occurred in May 1922 and August 1923, were not sufficient to produce explosive activity. A phreatic eruption of Kilauea requires both the transfer of a large volume of magma from the summit reservoir and the rapid removal of magma from near the surface, where the surrounding rocks have been heated to a sufficient temperature to produce steam explosions when suddenly contacted by groundwater.     

Petrology of the hilina formation,Kilauea volcano,Hawaii

The Hilina Formation comprises the oldest sequence of lava flows and tuffs exposed on Kilauea Volcano. These rocks are only exposed in kipukas in younger Puna Formation lavas along cliffs on the south flank of Kilauea Volcano. Locally, tuffs and flows of the Pahala Formation separate the underlying Hilina Formation rocks rom the overlying Puna Formation rocks. Charcoal collected from the base of the Pahala Formation yielded a C¹⁴ age of 22.800±340 years B.P. which defines a minimum age for the Hilina Formation. Hilina Formation lavas crop out over a wide region and probably originated from the summit area and from both rift zones. The Hilina Formation contains both olivine-controlled and differentiated lavas (using the terminology ofWright, 1971). The olivine-controlled lavas of the Hilina Formation are distinguishable mineralogically and geochemically from younger olivine-controlled Kilauea lavas. The younger lavas generally contain discrete low-calcium pyroxene grains. greater glass contents, higher K₂O/P₂O₅ ratios and lower total iron contents. Similar geochemical trends prevail for Manuna Loa lavas, and may typify the early lavas of Hawaiian shield volcanoes. Despite these similarities, the Hilina Formation (and all Kilauea) lavas have higher TiO₂ and CaO, and lower SiO₂ and Al₂O₃ contents than Mauna Loa Lavas. These differences have existed for over 30,000 years. Therefore, it is unlikely that the older lavas of Kilauea are compositionally similar to recent Mauna Loa lavas as was previously suggested. K₂O, TiO₂, Na₂ and Zr contents of lavas from a stratigraphic sequence of Hilina Formation lavas are variable. These variations may be utilized to subdivide the sequence into geochemical groups. These groups are not magma batches. Rather, they represent lavas from batches whose compositions may have been modified by crystal fractionation and magma mixing.     

Pit crater formation on Kilauea volcano, Hawaii.

Most of the known pit craters in Hawaii occur along the East and Southwest Rift Zones of Kilauea volcano. The pit craters typically are either astride a single rift zone fracture or between a pair of rift zone fractures. These fractures are prominent in the pit crater walls. The pit craters are elliptical in plan view, with their major diameters ranging from 8 to 1140 m. They range in depth from 6 m to 186 m. They typically develop with initially steep, locally overhanging walls, but as the walls collapse, the craters fill with talus and become shaped like inverted elliptical cones. None of the craters apparently formed as eruptive vents, although some have been subsequently filled by lava. Devil's Throat is the best-exposed pit crater along the East Rift Zone. It is sited at a `waist' between two east-striking zones of ground cracks; the spacing between the crack zones decreases towards Devil's Throat. East-striking fractures are also prominent in the pit crater walls. Pit craters along the Southwest Rift Zone typically are elongate in plan view along the direction of the rift, have large caves at their bases along the long axes of the craters, and are smaller than those of the East Rift Zone. Some closely spaced pits there have coalesced to form a trough. Based on our observations and mechanical considerations, we infer that pit craters form by stoping over an underlying large-aperture rift zone fracture, and not by piston-like collapse over broad magma bodies or voids. Flow of magma along the underlying fracture may remove stoped blocks and prevent the fracture from being choked with debris. This mechanism is consistent with pit crater location, ground crack patterns, the preferred orientation of fractures in pit crater walls, and pit crater geometry (both in map view and cross-section). The mechanism also fits with observations of stoping into a gaping rift fracture that conducted lava from Kilauea caldera during the 1920s. Additionally, the ratio of pit crater width to depth of 0.5 to 2 is consistent with pit craters forming over a nearly vertical opening mode fracture.     

Thermal areas on Kilauea and Mauna Loa Volcanoes, Hawaii

Active thermal areas are concentrated in three areas on Mauna Loa and three areas on Kilauea. High-temperature fumaroles (115–362° C) on Mauna Loa are restricted to the summit caldera, whereas high-temperature fumaroles on Kilauea are found in the upper East Rift Zone (Mauna Ulu summit fumaroles, 562° C), middle East Rift Zone (1977 eruptive fissure fumaroles), and in the summit caldera. Solfataric activity that has continued for several decades occurs along border faults of Kilauea caldera and at Sulphur Cone on the southwest rift zone of Mauna Loa. Solfataras that are only a few years old occur along recently active eruptive fissures in the summit caldera and along the rift zones of Kilauea. Steam vents and hot-air cracks also occur at the edges of cooling lava ponds, on the summits of lava shields, along faults and graben fractures, and in diffuse patches that may reflect shallow magmatic intrusions.     

The 1959 and 1960 eruptions of Kilauea volcano,Hawaii, and the construction of walls to restrict the spread of the lava flows

Bulletin of Volcanology - A summit eruption of Kilauea volcano took place in Kilauea Iki crater, immediately adjacent to Kilauea caldera, from November 14 to December 20, 1959. Approximately 61...     

The complex filling of alae crater,Kilauea Volcano,Hawaii

Since February 1969 Alae Crater, a 165-m-deep pit crater on the east rift of Kilauea Volcano, has been completely filled with about 18 million m³ of lava. The filling was episodic and complex. It involved 13 major periods of addition of lava to the crater, including spectacular lava falls as high as 100 m, and three major periods of draining of lava from the crater. Alae was nearly filled by August 3, 1969, largely drained during a violent ground-cracking event on August 4, 1969, and then filled to the low point on its rim on October 10, 1969. From August 1970 to May 1971, the crater acted as a reservoir for lava that entered through subsurface tubes leading from the vent fissure 150 m away. Another tube system drained the crater and carried lava as far as the sea, 11 km to the south. Much of the lava entered Alae by invading the lava lake beneath its crust and buoying the crust upward. This process, together with the overall complexity of the filling, results in a highly complicated lava lake that would doubtless be misinterpreted if found in the fossil record.     

Development of the 1990 Kalapana Flow Field,Kilauea Volcano,Hawaii

The 1990 Kalapana flow field is a complex patchwork of tube-fed pahoehoe flows erupted from the Kupaianaha vent at a low effusion rate (approximately 3.5 m³/s). These flows accumulated over an 11-month period on the coastal plain of Kilauea Volcano, where the pre-eruption slope angle was less than 2°. the composite field thickened by the addition of new flows to its surface, as well as by inflation of these flows and flows emplaced earlier. Two major flow types were identified during the development of the flow field: large primary flows and smaller breakouts that extruded from inflated primary flows. Primary flows advanced more quickly and covered new land at a much higher rate than breakouts. The cumulative area covered by breakouts exceeded that of primary flows, although breakouts frequently covered areas already buried by recent flows. Lava tubes established within primary flows were longer-lived than those formed within breakouts and were often reoccupied by lava after a brief hiatus in supply; tubes within breakouts were never reoccupied once the supply was interrupted. During intervals of steady supply from the vent, the daily areal coverage by lava in Kalapana was constant, whereas the forward advance of the flows was sporadic. This implies that planimetric area, rather than flow length, provides the best indicator of effusion rate for pahoehoe flow fields that form on lowangle slopes.     

Some results from recent chemical studies at Kilauea volcano,Hawaii

The chemical surveillance of Kilauea volcano, Hawaii, has continued. No relationship has thus far been identified between the helium content of an associated fumarole and the activity at the volcano. Fume samples from Halemaumau crater in Kilauea caldera and from a fissure eruption that occurred nearby on the floor of the caldera during August 1971 were examined for their halogen (Cl and F) and sulfur contents. The ratio of Cl/F in fume showed an abnormal increase in samples taken at Halemaumau a month before the eruption. This change in ratio may be a helpful indicator of the onset of eruption in volcanic areas.     

Rheology of the 1983 Royal Gardens basalt flows,Kilauea Volcano,Hawaii

Ten carefully surveyed topographic profiles across a 1983 Royal Gardens basalt flow from the East Rift of the Kilauea Volcano were matched to digitally derived preflow profiles to construct accurate flow cross sections. Geometric parameters measured on these sections were then used to compute yield strengths and viscosities by means of several rheologic models. Calculated yield strengths (1.5–50 × 10³ Pa) and viscosities (0.2–8.2 × 10⁶ Pas) are comparable to earlier field estimates and slightly higher than laboratory determined values for aa basalt. Both yield strength and viscosity increased systematically downstream. The maximum observed temperature drop of 30 °C is insufficient to account for the 30-fold increase in yield strength, but could explain the three-fold order-of-magnitude increase in viscosity. The yield-strength increase downstream is more likely due to increasing crystallization and brecciation with time. For any cross section, calculations of rheologic parameters based on flow-margin depths generally gave lower values than those based on the dimensions of levees. This relationship may be attributed to the earlier formation and less complex evolution of the margins. The various equations gave more consistent results for upstream profiles, suggesting that calculations for remotely observed flows should avoid measurements near flow termini.     

Geometry of the September 1971 eruptive fissure at Kilauea volcano,Hawaii

A three-dimensional model has been used to estimate the location and dimensions of the eruptive fissure for the 24–29 September 1971 eruption along the southwest rift zone of Kilauea volcano, Hawaii. The model is an inclined rectangular sheet embedded in an elastic half-space with constant displacement on the plane of the sheet. The set of best model parameters suggests that the sheet is vertical, extends from a depth of about 2 km to the surface, and has a length of about 14 km. Because this sheet intersects the surface where eruptive vents and extensive ground cracking formed during the eruption, this sheet probably represents the conduit for erupted lava. The amount of displacement perpendicular to the sheet is about 1.9 m, in the middle range of values measured for the amount of opening across the September 1971 eruptive fissure. The thickness of the eruptive fissure associated with the January 1983 east rift zone eruption was determined in an earlier paper to be 3.6 m, about twice the thickness determined here for the September 1971 eruption. Because the lengths (12 km for 1983 and 14 km for 1971) and heights (about 2 km) of the sheet models derived for the January 1983 and September 1971 rift zone eruptions are nearly identical, the greater thickness for the January 1983 eruptive fissure implies that the magma pressure was about a factor of two greater to form the January 1983 eruptive fissure. Because the September 1971 and January 1983 eruptive fissures extent to depths of only a few kilometers, the region of greatest compressive stress produced along the volcano's flank by either of these eruptive fissures would also be within a few kilometers of the surface. Previous work has shown that rift eruptions and intrusions contribute to the buildup of compressive stress along Kilauea's south flank and that this buildup is released by increased seismicity along the south flank. Because south flank earthquakes occur at significantly greater depths, i.e., from 5 to 13 km, than the vertical extent of the 1971 and 1983 eruptiv fissures, the depth of emplacement of these eruptive fissures cannot be the main factor in controlling the hypocentral depths of south flank earthquakes. Two possible explanations for the occurrence of south flank earthquakes in the depth range of 5–13 km are (1) a deeper pressure source, possibly related to deeper magma storage within the rift zone, and (2) a lowstrength region located between 5 and 13 km beneath Kilauea's south flank, possibly at the interface between oceanic sediments and the base of the Hawaiian volcanics.