USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists monitor the ongoing activity within Kīlauea summit caldera. They measure lava fountain and lake surface heights and document the location of still active vents. USGS photo by A. Nalesnik.

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists collected samples that erupted on September 10th, 2023, during the ongoing eruption within Kīlauea summit caldera. The samples were collected from within strategically placed buckets along the rim of the crater. The samples will be analyzed later for information about the lava erupted during the eruption. USGS photo by A. Nalesnik.

During the morning of September 11, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists conducted an overflight of the new eruption within Kīlauea summit caldera. The eruption is occurring in the east portion of Halemaʻumaʻu crater and on the downdropped block to the east, which formed during the 2018 summit collapse. Halemaʻumaʻu crater is significant to Native Hawaiian communities as it is the home of Pele. A safe location was identified on the downdropped block, from which a geologist, wearing protective equipment, could collect a molten sample of newly erupted material. The sample will provide information on magma storage and transport before it was erupted onto the surface as lava.  Access to this hazardous area is by permission from, and in coordination with, Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. USGS photo by M. Patrick. 

A sample of the recent Kīlauea summit eruption that was collected and quenched (cooled) with water is dried later that day in a warm oven at the University of Hawai‘i. UH-Hilo photo by S. Lundblad. 

A dried sample of the recent Kīlauea summit eruption is ready for processing at the University of Hawai‘i. UH-Hilo photo by S. Lundblad. 

A UH-Hilo undergraduate research assistant Paige Johnson places a sample of the Kīlauea summit eruption into the shatterbox, which will turn the sample into a homogenous powder. UH-Hilo photo by S. Lundblad.

University of Hawai‘i at Hilo geology major Paige Johnson compresses a lava sample, collected by Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists during the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption, into a solid pellet that can be analyzed. UH-Hilo photo by S. Lundblad.

A photo showing what completed pellet look like, with a sharpie pen for scale. The rough and uneven lava sample has been transformed into a pellet that is dense, fine-grained, and has a flat surface that can be analyzed. USGS photo by S. Lundblad. 

After preparing the lava samples, the pressed pellets are loaded into the energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) instrument for analysis (box on the left in the image). The computer screen shows the spectral spikes for certain elements measured in the sample during the analysis. These compositional analyses are used by HVO and University of Hawai‘i at Hilo partners to understand the eruption. The lava samples for this eruption so far have about 6.8 weight percent MgO (magnesium oxide), which is nearly identical to previous Kīlauea summit eruptions since 2020. UH-Hilo photo by S. Lundblad.