Kīlauea summit eruption - September 30, 2021

Aerial image of eruption in Halemaʻumaʻu at Kīlauea Volcano's summit taken during an overflight at approximately 7:30 a.m. HST on September 30, 2021. The nascent lava lake has been rising approximately one meter (yard) an hour since the eruption began. The lava lake has not exhibited widespread circulation overnight, with localized and discontinuous areas of crustal foundering (a process by which cool lava crust on the surface of the lava lake is overridden by less-dense liquid from below causing the crust to sink into the underlying lake lava). USGS image by K. Mulliken.