Episodic spattering in the Episode 58 lava channel

Preview image for video: (November 15, 2007, 09:00:15 to 13:00:15)
Periods of overflow and levee construction at the Episode 58 lava channel were interspersed with periods when the lava level was below the channel rim. The lava surface within the lava channel commonly experienced repeated cycles of rise and fall, as shown here. During these cycles, the lava surface would rise slowly, then spattering would abruptly commence along the edge of the lava stream, and the lava surface would drop rapidly. This behavior is equivalent to that of gas pistoning, as described in "Gas pistons within the Drainhole vent at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō", and suggests that the process is driven by gas accumulation beneath the crust of the lava stream.

The images that make up this movie were acquired by a time-lapse camera positioned just below the eastern rim of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō, about 2.2 kilometers west of the perched channel. The images were cropped to highlight the activity within the channel.

Movie Details:
File size = 61.7 MB
Image interval = 1 minute
Playback speed = 10 frames/sec
Movie duration = 00:00:24

Camera Coordinates (WGS84):
Lat: 19.3901º
Long: -155.1037º
View direction = ~55º