An early morning aerial view (looking west) of the fissure 8 lava channel. Downs

An early morning aerial view (looking west) of the fissure 8 lava channel. Downstream of the vent, the channel splits to form a "braided" section in the lava channel, and, this morning, the north (right) arm of the braided section appeared to be partially abandoned. Lava was still visible in part of the northern braid, but the lower section was only weakly incandescent. During today's overflight, lava within the channel generally appeared to be at a lower level than in previous days.