No significant changes at Kīlauea's summit water lake

An HVO geologist collects GPS data on the western rim of Kīlauea's summit caldera. The geologist is standing upon a thick sequence of tephra deposits formed during explosive eruptions at Kīlauea's summit between about 1500 CE and the early 19th century. These layers of explosive deposits cap a much thicker sequence of lava flows (bottom and left portion of the photo), formed before 1500 CE. Research in recent years has shown that Kīlauea's summit alternates between explosive and non-explosive (lava flow dominated) periods. The tall cliff in the lower left portion of the image formed during the collapses of the caldera floor in 2018. USGS photo by M. Patrick.