3.2. Lava transport systems and emplacement
Processes related to lava transport and emplacement could be studied
through thickness change maps (Fig. 3a–c) such as breakouts, inflation,
lava stacking, pond formation, channel changes, deflation, cooling and
contraction as well as vent changes. Especially, monitoring of inflation
within valleys that were likely to spill into lower lying terrain was
important since some sections of popular hiking trails were located
below lava-filled valleys.
Despite the relatively stable effusion rate in phase 3 and 4 (Fig. 2),
the braided lava pathways and the lava advancement were complex and
variable as the lava filled and spilled from one valley into another.
Short-term prediction of the timing of overflow from one valley to
another provided challenges and thus monitoring the changes in the lava
transport system and lava deposition in different valleys became
important. The lava pathways were strongly controlled by the topography
and mainly confined to the valleys and the steep slopes connecting them.
However, since the valley systems consisted of multiple valleys east and
south of the active vents the lava pathways were not uniformly filling
up the valleys but switching from one valley to another. One way to
monitor these changes and estimate the variability was to investigate
the volume changes in different zones and vent distances (at 100 m
interval) based on the thickness change maps. For each zone we could
calculate the ΔV/Δt reflecting the volume deposited for a given period
at a specific vent distance. This allows us to display the changes in
lava transport and deposition in between these zones and distances over
time (Fig. 3d).