Collapses into Halema‘uma‘u summit lava lake last week

Collapses within Halema‘uma‘u lava lake are common, especially when the lake level drops and the new veneer (coating of lava) peels from the walls. Last week, there were two larger collapses that removed thin slices of the older lithic wall, and slightly changed the size and geometry of the lava lake. The collapses were not large enough to produce explosive events, but did trigger seismic signals and lake surface agitation along with spattering for tens of minutes. This photo from a Halema‘uma‘u time-lapse camera was taken on December 12 and shows the approximate areas (dashed yellow lines) that collapsed on December 5 at 4:40 am (right), and December 7 at 6:56 pm (left).