An Geologist, wearing a balaclava and thick gloves to guard against...

An HVO geologist, wearing a balaclava and thick gloves to guard against the extreme heat, uses a rock hammer to take a sample of an active pāhoehoe toe. He immediately drops the fluid lava in a bucket of water to quench the sample and prevent further crystal growth, preserving the sample in a pristine state. Regular geochemical analyses of these samples provides insight on the changing magmatic plumbing system.