Footage from Hawaii shows a fountain of lava shooting out of Kilauea Tuesday morning, as the volcano continues its weeks-long eruption.
Livecam footage from Hawaii showed a fountain of lava spewing out of Kilauea on Tuesday morning amid a new eruption cycle, as the volcano continues its weeks-long eruptions, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
In the video, lava could be seen shooting out of Kilauea’s Halemaʻumaʻu crater and up into the air about 330 feet, or almost as high as the length of a football field.
The USGS said the fountain was one of several bursts that began Tuesday morning, with the ones that preceded it being smaller, sporadic and less intense.
Known as “Episode 9,” this event follows a series of episodes going back to Dec. 23, when Halemaʻumaʻu began lava fountaining.
Lava fountaining at Kilauea (episode 9).
(USGS / FOX Weather)
The length of each episode has varied, with durations as short as 13 hours and as long as 8 days, according to the USGS. In between the episodes are pauses that last as little as less than a day and up to 12 days.
VIDEO FROM HAWAII’S KILAUEA VOLCANO SHOWS LAVA SHOOTING INTO AIR AT 8TH ERUPTIVE EPISODE CONTINUES
Officials noted that the primary hazard of concern with Tuesday’s episode is the amount of volcanic gas it will produce. In particular, the sulfur dioxide released from the summit will react in the atmosphere to produce vog, or volcanic smog, downwind of Kilauea.
Also downwind, strands of volcanic gas known as “Pele’s hair” and other volcanic fragments from the lava fountains may fall on the ground.
The eruption of one of the world’s most active volcanoes continues to captivate onlookers on Hawaii’s Big Island.
The USGS said that exposure to these volcanic particles can cause skin and eye irritation, and advised residents and visitors to keep their distance from them.
They added that other hazards with the lava fountaining include the instability of the crater wall of Halemaʻumaʻu, ground cracking, along with rockfalls. These can be exacerbated by earthquakes, which have been detected in the area closed to the public.
“This underscores the extremely hazardous nature of Kīlauea’s caldera rim surrounding Halemaʻumaʻu, an area that has been closed to the public since late 2007,” the USGS said.