December 28, 2024 — Gas monitoring station repairs

Maintenance of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory's instrumental monitoring network is an ever-ongoing process, but it is especially important during eruptions. Here, two scientists perform repairs on a gas monitoring station located just west of Kaluapele—Kīlauea's summit caldera—on Saturday, December 28, 2024. An upward-looking spectrometer measures the amount of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) passing over the station, and when combined with data from other similar instruments located downwind of the ongoing eruption within Halemaʻumaʻu crater, an approximate SO₂ emission rate can be calculated. USGS photo by M. Zoeller.