August 28, 2026 — USGS staff sampling episode 54 lava flow, Kīlauea summit

Sample collection and analyses are an important part of understanding the state of Kīlauea, and the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) manages to collect samples of tephra and lava flows after almost every episode. Here, HVO staff are collecting a sample of cooled pāhoehoe lava emplaced from the north vent during lava fountaining episode 54 that occurred in Halema‘uma‘u on August 25. Sampling in this culturally sensitive area is down with permission from Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. USGS photo by Y. Brien-Miller.