Continuous thermal camera images of summit lava lake activity at Kīlauea volcano, Island of Hawaiʻi, 2010-2018

The 2008-2018 eruption at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, Island of Hawaiʻi, provided a unique opportunity to study lava lake behavior due to the accessibility and robust monitoring network (Patrick and others, 2021). During the eruption, the lava lake rose in elevation and enlarged, eventually reaching about 300 m in diameter.  The lake exhibited frequent oscillations in elevation due to outgassing and magma reservoir pressure fluctuations (Patrick and others, 2015; 2019a), as well as continuous spattering and sporadic rockfall-triggered explosions (Orr and others, 2013).  A major component of the monitoring of the eruption was a continuously operating thermal camera (named “HTcam”) situated on the crater rim above the lake (Patrick and others, 2014).  This camera captured an image every 5 seconds for most of the eruption (2010-2018), and produced the largest imaging dataset of lava lake activity that we are aware of, anywhere on Earth. The camera was eventually destroyed in May 2018 during the summit collapse events associated with the destructive eruption on the lower East Rift Zone (Neal and others, 2019; Patrick and others, 2019b).   


This data release includes the entirety of data collected by the HTcam.  The data files are organized by year and month.  The image data are in a binary format that can be easily opened with programs such as Python or Matlab.  We have included a data details document that has information on the location and viewing geometry of the camera, as well as example code to show how to open the image files.  These images, particularly when integrated with ground deformation and seismic data (Patrick and others, 2016a,b; 2019a), provide a robust dataset that may be explored more deeply for further insight into lava lake dynamics and basaltic eruption behavior.   


References 


Neal CA, Brantley SR, Antolik L, Babb J, Burgess M, Calles K, Cappos M, Chang JC, Conway S, Desmither L, Dotray P, Elias T, Fukunaga P, Fuke S, Johanson IA, Kamibayashi K, Kauahikaua J, Lee RL, Pekalib S, Miklius A, Million W, Moniz CJ, Nadeau PA, Okubo P, Parcheta C, Patrick MR, Shiro B, Swanson DA, Tollett W, Trusdell F, Younger EF, Zoeller MH, Montgomery-Brown EK, Anderson KR, Poland MP, Ball J, Bard J, Coombs M, Dietterich HR, Kern C, Thelen WA, Cervelli PF, Orr T, Houghton BF, Gansecki C, Hazlett R, Lundgren P, Diefenbach AK, Lerner AH, Waite G, Kelly P, Clor L, Werner C, Mulliken K, Fisher G. 2019. The 2018 rift eruption and summit collapse of Kīlauea Volcano: Science 363:367-374. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aav7046 


Orr TR, Thelen WA, Patrick MR, Swanson DA, Wilson DC. 2013. Explosive eruptions triggered by rockfalls at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaiʻi.  Geology, 41:207-210   


Patrick M., Orr T, Antolik L, Lee L., Kamibayashi K. 2014. Continuous monitoring of Hawaiian volcanoes with thermal cameras. Journal of Applied Volcanology, 3:1. http://www.appliedvolc.com/content/3/1/1 


Patrick MR, Anderson KR, Poland MP, Orr T, Swanson DA. 2015. Lava lake level as a gauge of magma reservoir pressure and eruptive hazard. Geology, 43:831-834. http://geology.geoscienceworld.org/content/early/2015/07/28/G36896.1.fu…;


Patrick MR, Orr T, Sutton AJ, Lev E, Thelen W, Fee D. 2016a. Shallowly driven fluctuations in lava lake outgassing (gas pistoning), Kīlauea Volcano. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 433:326-338. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012821X15006883 


Patrick MR, Orr T, Swanson DA, Lev E. 2016b. Shallow and deep controls on lava lake surface motion at Kīlauea Volcano. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 328:247-261. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2016.11.010 


Patrick MR, Swanson DA, Orr T. 2019a. A review of controls on lava lake level: insights from Halemaʻumaʻu Crater, Kīlauea Volcano. Bulletin of Volcanology, 81 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-019-1268-y 


Patrick MR, Younger EF, Tollett W. 2019b. Lava level and crater geometry data during the 2018 lava lake draining at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaii. U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9MJY24N. 


Patrick M, Orr T, Swanson D, Houghton B, Wooten K, Desmither L, Parcheta C, Fee D.  2021. Kīlauea’s 2008–2018 summit lava lake—Chronology and eruption insights, chap. A of Patrick M, Orr T, Swanson D, and Houghton B, eds., The 2008–2018 summit lava lake at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1867, 50 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/pp1867A.