Lava fountain heights and associated timelapse images for the summit eruption of Kīlauea volcano, Island of Hawaiʻi, 2024-2026 (continuing)

The 2024–2026 (ongoing) summit eruption of Kīlauea volcano, Island of Hawaiʻi, has produced lava fountains on a scale unprecedented in the summit caldera since written records began in 1823. By August 2026, 54 episodes of lava fountaining had occurred, with peak heights exceeding 500 meters. Two main vents have been active (north and south), often producing remarkable dual fountains. These fountains have fed lava flows that have spread across the crater floor, raising the western crater floor elevation by over 100 meters. Most lava fountaining episodes have lasted 6–12 hours, with one to two weeks of repose between episodes. The eruption has been highly visible to the public and media, given the ease of viewing from numerous viewpoints along the caldera rim (Patrick and others, 2026).
 
A crucial parameter of this eruption has been lava fountain height, and we have performed quantitative measurements of this from a series of timelapse cameras deployed along the south rim of the caldera. The cameras were acquiring images at intervals of 0.5–1.0 minute, and we manually measured the top of the main body of the lava fountain, disregarding sparse particles often present above the continuous fountain body. The measurements were generally made each minute, through the course of each episode, producing a detailed time series of fountain height.
 
This data release includes those manual measurements of fountain height as well as the raw images used for the measurements, should the user wish to analyze the images themselves. Overall, this data release should provide a robust dataset for better understanding lava fountaining behavior and basaltic eruption dynamics. The cameras used for the fountain height measurements were a part of a broader network of cameras around the summit region that captured this eruption (Patrick and others 2026). Additional images and video from these cameras are included in the data release of Adams and others (2026).
 
In this version of the data release (updated August 2026), we have included the fountain height data and timelapse images for episodes 1–50 of the 2024–2026 eruption. The eruption was ongoing at the time of publication, with 54 episodes to that point, and subsequent episodes after episode 50 will be included in a future version of this data release.



References



Adams, R., Patrick, M., Hoomanawanui, T-J., Tollett, W., Kamibayashi, K., Warren, S.M., Swaney,. S, Fuke, S. 2026. Timelapse and webcam images of eruptive activity at Kīlauea volcano, Island of Hawaiʻi, 2024 to present. U.S. Geological Survey data release. https://doi.org/10.5066/P147QBSZ
 
Carr, B.B., Patrick, M.R., Dietterich, H.R., Zoeller, M.H., Parcheta, C.E., Downs, D.T., Nadeau, P.A., and Hamilton, C.W., 2026, Growth of a passive lava lake during the 2020–2021 eruption of Kīlauea volcano, Hawaii: Bulletin of Volcanology, vol. 88, no. 1. [Also available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-025-01867-4].
 
DeSmither, L, and Patrick, M., 2024, Lava fountain heights and associated timelapse images during the 2018 lower East Rift Zone eruption of Kīlauea volcano, Island of Hawaiʻi: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9DSIP05.
 
Downs, D., Lynn, K.J., Winslow, H., Lundblad, S.P., and Decker, M.I., 2026, Spatial and temporal geochemical variations of lava flows and tephra deposits from the December 2020 to September 2024 eruptions of Kīlauea volcano: Bulletin of Volcanology, vol. 88, no. 38. [Also available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-026-01957-x].
 
Ellis, A.P, and Johanson, I.A., 2025a, Tiltmeter data from Kīlauea stations (ESC, IKI, JKA, KAE, POC, SDH, UWD, UWE) from January 1 to December 31, 2024: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P14APFQU.
 
Ellis, A.P, and Johanson, I.A., 2025b, Tiltmeter data from Kīlauea stations (ESC, IKI, JKA, KAE, POC, SDH, UWD) from January 1 to June 30, 2025: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P1ZGFGBI.
 
Ellis, A.P, Johanson I.A., and Tollett, W.D., 2026, Tiltmeter data on the Island of Hawaiʻi collected by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory from July 1, 2025 to present with 60-day latency (Updated 2026-07-02): U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P145C5WE.
 
Endo E.T., Murray T. 1991. Real-time seismic amplitude measurement (RSAM): a volcano monitoring and prediction tool. Bulletin of Volcanology 53, p. 533-545.
 
The MathWorks, Inc. 2024. MATLAB Computer Vision Toolbox (Version R2024b). Natick, Massachusetts: The MathWorks, Inc. Retrieved from https://www.mathworks.com/products/computer-vision.html
 
Mosbrucker, A.R., Zoeller, M.H., and Ramsey, D.W., 2020, Digital elevation model of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaiʻi, based on July 2019 airborne lidar surveys: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9F1ZU8O.
 
Mulliken, K.M., Kauahikaua, J.P., Swanson, D.A., and Zoeller, M.H., 2024, Chronology of recent volcanic activity on the Island of Hawai‘i, Hawaii: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9V3NQYB.
 
Neal, C.A., Brantley, S.R., Antolik, L., Babb, J., Burgess, M., Calles, K., Cappos, M., Chang, J.C., Conway, S., Desmither, L., Dotray, P., Elias, T., Fukunaga, P., Fuke, S., Johanson, I.A., Kamibayashi, K., Kauahikaua, J., Lee, R.L., Pekalib, S., Miklius, A., Million, W., Moniz, C.J., Nadeau, P.A., Okubo, P., Parcheta, C., Patrick, M.R., Shiro, B., Swanson, D.A., Tollett, W., Trusdell, F., Younger, E.F., Zoeller, M.H., Montgomery-Brown, E.K., Anderson, K.R., Poland, M.P., Ball, J., Bard, J., Coombs, M., Dietterich, H.R., Kern, C., Thelen, W.A., Cervelli, P.F., Orr, T., Houghton, B.F., Gansecki, C., Hazlett, R., Lundgren, P., Diefenbach, A.K., Lerner, A.H., Waite, G., Kelly, P., Clor, L., Werner, C., Mulliken, K., and Fisher, G., 2019, The 2018 rift eruption and summit collapse of Kīlauea Volcano: Science, vol. 363 no. 6425, pp. 397–374. [Also available at https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aav7046].
 
Patrick, M., Orr, T., Swanson, D., Houghton, B., Wooten, K., Desmither, L., Parcheta, C., and 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.
 
Patrick, M.R., Zoeller, M.H., Trusdell, F.A., Kamibayashi, K., Swaney, S., Warren, S.M., Tollett, W., Hoomanawanui, T., Dietterich, H., and Desmither, L., 2024, Timelapse and webcam images of the 2022 eruption of Mauna Loa, Island of Hawaiʻi: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P149BRTT.
 
Patrick, M.R., Hon, K., Tollett, W., Hoomanawanui, T-J., Mulliken, K., Orr, T., Poland, M.P., Kamibayashi, K., Warren, S.M., Swaney, S., Younger, E.F., Kamake`eaina, A., Fuke, S., Lee, R.C., Zoeller, M., and Horvath, S., 2026, Seeing is believing—livestream video monitoring of Hawaiian eruptions: Journal of Applied Volcanology, vol. 15, no. 10. [Also available at https://doi.org/10.1186/s13617-026-00170-x].  
 
USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO). 1956. Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Network [Data set]. International Federation of Digital Seismograph Networks. https://doi.org/10.7914/SN/HV
 
Wright, T.L., and Klein, F.W., 2014, Two hundred years of magma transport and storage at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaiʻi, 1790–2008: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1806, 240 p., 9 appendixes, http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/pp1806.
 
Younger, E., Tollett, W., and Patrick, M., 2025, Monitoring lava lake fluctuations and crater refilling with continuous laser rangefinders: Journal of Applied Volcanology, vol. 14, no. 4. [Also available at https://doi.org/10.1186/s13617-025-00152-5].