Low-level aerial view of Kīlauea summit tephra deposit

This low-level aerial view of the tephra deposit from Kīlauea's ongoing summit eruption was captured during a Hawaiian Volcano Observatory helicopter overflight on Friday, March 14. Looking south over the area downwind of the eruptive vents within Halema‘uma‘u (itself out of view to the left), the closed portion of Crater Rim Drive southwest of the crater is seen blanketed in tephra from recent lava fountains. Fresh tire tracks in the tephra, since the episode 13 eruption concluded, were formed by geologists who access this area for sample collection and other important volcano monitoring activities that support hazard assessment. USGS photo taken by M. Zoeller.