Pink Ash Blankets Area Near Halema`uma`u After Third Explosion

A USGS vehicle traveling on Crater Rim Drive near Halema`uma`u Crater creates tracks in the thin layer of pink ash ejected in the April 16 explosion.

A second explosion from the new vent in Halema`uma`u Crater occurred at 11:08 p.m., Early Wednesday morning, April 16, a small explosion occurred in Halema`uma`u Crater. It was the third time the gas vent that opened in mid-March blasted rocks or ash onto the crater rim. Seismic signals put the time of the explosion at 3:57 a.m. USGS scientists are monitoring Kīlauea summit around the clock, but their view of the vent was obscured by fog and mist at the time of the explosion.

Don Swanson, a Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist, was in the field after first light and described the explosion debris as faintly pink lithic ash (pulverized rock) with particles no more than 4 mm (0.2 inches) in diameter. This "rock dust" was observed on the crater rim above the vent and downwind across the Halema`uma`u Overlook parking area and a section of Crater Rim Drive. Closer examination of the ash under a microscope revealed tiny volcanic glass fragments, indicating that molten lava was also ejected in the explosion.