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Photo and Video Chronology - Kīlauea - September 20, 2017

By Kīlauea September 20, 2017

Deformation of the lava delta continues

Deformation of the lava delta continues...
This video shows the Kamokuna lava delta growing and sinking over a 1 month time span between 15 August 2017 and 19 September 2017. Made from one image every other day. The video is looped 10 times, with the loop number in the upper left corner. As the delta grows and builds outwards, the front of the delta sinks and lowers into the ocean if there is not enough support below it to build outwards. The delta often cracks as it bends and deforms while sinking, allowing lava to cover its surface by coming out of the cracks or the main tube. This masks the effect of the delta sinking because the new material on top appears at the same height as the slightly older material, but in fact the front of the delta is sinking relatively quickly.

 

A shatter ring forms and grows on the Kamokuna lava delta. This vid...
A shatter ring forms and grows on the Kamokuna lava delta. This video shows repeated uplift and subsidence of the delta surface by the lava supply under the surface. This process creates a large round rubble pile, called a shatter ring. The uplift is caused by extra lava accumulating in the tube, either from more volume coming in, or from a blockage that does not allow lava to pass through easily. If the rock breaks, which often happens around the base at the flexure point, then lava can flow out of the tube and onto the surface, causing the uplift to reverse.

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