Antarctic-volcano radar system visits Halema‘uma‘u

Dr. Nial Peters from the University of Cambridge sets up the prototype radar on the rim of Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea in January 2018. Microwave pulses are transmitted from one dish towards the lava lake surface. Some of the microwave energy is reflected back and is received by the other dish. The range or distance to the lava lake is then calculated from the time taken between transmission and reception of the pulses, providing a sensitive measure of the lava lake height. Measurements can be made continuously. Photo courtesy of C. Oppenheimer.