Imagery of the Mauna Loa 2022 eruption acquired with uncrewed aircraft systems

Mauna Loa volcano, Island of Hawaiʻi, erupted from November 27 to December 10, 2022, sending lava flows across the summit caldera (Mokuʻāweoweo) and into the upper Southwest Rift Zone, before focusing in the Northeast Rift Zone at fissure 3, sending a lava flow down the north flank that threatened a major highway (Zoeller and others, 2024). During the eruption, U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory staff flew uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) to make observations of the active lava flow on three days when conditions and permissions allowed. Flights were cleared through State and Federal agencies, with authorization to operate within an active temporary flight restriction.

UAS missions launched from accessible points along the lava flow margin. A short nighttime flight on December 2, 2022, mapped the lava flow front. On December 4, 2022, flights from a nearby cinder cone captured activity at the vent and the upper lava channel. On December 7, 2022, additional flights surveyed the lower channel and a significant overflow. The missions focused on video of fountains and channels, including nadir footage for measuring lava channel velocities, along with gas measurements and aerial photographs for mapping. Data were acquired using USGS UAS flying approximately 400 feet above ground level. Videos and still imagery were acquired with thermal and optical cameras. The thermal sensor had a range of -40–550°C. The data release includes all imagery and video acquired during these missions. Files are organized by date and flight number, with subfolders separating optical and thermal data where applicable. A flight list file provides a complete index of the dataset, supporting usage of these data for further study.

References:
Zoeller, M.H., Patrick, M.R., Bard, J.A., Trusdell, F.A., Parcheta, C.E., Wessels, R.L., Carbo, C.L., Mosbrucker, A.R., and Robinson, J.E., 2024, Geospatial database of the 2022 summit and Northeast Rift Zone eruption of Mauna Loa volcano, Hawaiʻi: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P1KES7F4.