September 3, 2025 — Kīlauea summit tephra collection bucket

Tephra is the material erupted that travels through the air before falling on the ground. During the ongoing eruption of Kīlauea, tephra from each episode of lava fountaining tells us about the magma storage conditions leading to the eruption. Sometimes collecting tephra is difficult, as the collection buckets may not be ideally situated, or they may get damaged by large, hot bombs. In this case, the collection bucket worked perfectly, and provided a nearly full sample. This bucket is situated just west of the north vent, near the caldera rim. USGS photo by M. Patrick.