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Overflight photograph at approximately 6:13 a.m. shows the lava flow originating from Fissure 8 (not visible in photograph) entering Kapoho Bay. The ocean entry was reported to have occurred by 10:30 p.m. on the night of June 3, 2018.
Fissure 8 lava fountains
What a difference four days makes. This thermal image of Fissure 8 fountains from the Lower East Rift Zone eruption of Kīlauea shows a few things.1) The two lava fountains have gained height - tallest one from 150 ft to over 250 ft.2) A Pu‘u has built up downwind.3) The amount of material wafting downwind is greater.Scientifically, we know the fountain temperatures are reaching up to about 2040 degrees F (1115 C). The composition of the lava erupted has high MgO (magnesium oxide) values, which comes from olivine crystals that are being pulled from deep in the rift zone.
This short video compilation shows conditions at Kapoho Bay during a helicopter overflight on June 4, 2018, around 6:15 a.m. HST and again around 1:38 p.m. HST. By 6:15 a.m., lava from fissure 8 had entered the ocean for over seven hours. The flow front was about a half-mile wide, with lava building a delta a few hundred yards into the bay. The ocean entry sends a large laze plume into the air along the coastline. In the second video, taken about seven hours later (around 1:38 p.m.), lava had nearly filled the shallow bay.
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