Kīlauea summit eruption - Dec. 31, 2020 at 6:45 a.m. HST

The west vent area in Halema‘uma‘u wall continues to feed Kīlauea's summit lava lake. Preliminary analysis of sulfur dioxide emission rates measured Wednesday (Dec. 30) show that the rates are about 3,800 tonnes/day-- about the same as on the 28th and slightly lower than the Dec. 27 rate of 5,500 t/d, but still elevated; all three of the most recent emission rates were in the range of values common for the pre-2018 lava lake. USGS photo by M. Patrick.