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Photo and Video Chronology - Kīlauea - March 8, 2011

By Kīlauea March 8, 2011

Photos showing lava fountains from the northeastern vent of the Kamoamoa eruption, a piece of spatter ejected on March 7, 2011, and a thermal view into the Halema‘uma‘u vent.

Lava fountains from the northeastern vent of the Kamoamoa eruption 

Lava fountains from the northeastern vent of the Kamoamoa eruption ...
Lava fountains from the northeastern vent of the Kamoamoa eruption. Though it is an impressive sight, the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō cone in the background, and several hundred meters higher, puts the current activity into perspective.
View looking down onto the northeastern vent....
View looking down onto the northeastern vent.
Lava, erupting from the southwestern vent of the Kamoamoa eruption,...
Lava, erupting from the southwestern vent of the Kamoamoa eruption, fountains above the surrounding forest.
Image: Overview of the Kamoamoa Eruption
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Overview of the Kamoamoa eruption looking northeast toward Pu'u 'O 'o, in the background. The southwestern vent is in the foreground, while the northeastern vent is the distant fume at the base of Pu'u 'O 'o.
Image: Overview of the Kamoamoa Eruption
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Overview of the Kamoamoa eruption looking south. The northeastern vent is to the left, and the southwestern vent is to the upper right. A river of lava, erupting from the southwestern vent, can be seen advancing toward the southeast through forest within Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.

A piece of spatter ejected on March 7, 2011

A piece of spatter ejected on March 7, 2011...
A piece of spatter ejected on March 7, 2011. Handheld GPS for scale.

Thermal view into the Halema‘uma‘u vent that been largely obscured by fume

Thermal view into the Halema‘uma‘u vent that been largely obscured ...
Views into the Halema‘uma‘u vent have been largely obscured by fume over the past several days, and the only consistent views have been with a thermal camera, which can "see" through the fume. This thermal image was taken at a nearly vertical angle from a helicopter, in order to see the bottom of the extremely deep and narrow vent cavity. Prior to the drop in lava level, the lava lake was near its high lava mark, shown by the hot ring on the upper vent cavity walls. The lava level dropped considerably over the past several days, retreating to a narrow opening deep within the vent cavity.

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