Images

Graphic shows an east to west cut-away of Mount St. Helens with an interpreted model of seismic wave speeds under the volcano and earthquakes from 2008-2016. The colors of the model represent changes in seismic p-wave velocities from tomographic studies (Waite and Moran, 2009; doi:10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2009.02.009).

HVO scientists visited the rim of Halema‘uma‘u this afternoon (11/28) to collect samples of tephra and check for equipment damage. This view, taken on the approach to the Halema‘uma‘u, shows the tephra deposit on the crater rim. New spatter is seen as dark lumps scattered across the center of the image on top of older brown-colored Pele's hair.

This view shows the main body of the tephra deposit, which comprises the dark fragments scattered from the foreground to the web camera in the background (the HTcam thermal webcam). The rim of Halema‘uma‘u is to the right; the closed overlook is behind the photographer.

The larger spatter bombs bounced after hitting, leaving divots in the layer of Pele's hair that blankets the area, as seen here. These bombs are the diameter of large dinner plates.

The largest spatter bombs traveled the farthest, perhaps aided by momentum, landing on the trail between the Halema‘uma‘u parking area and overlook. Upon landing, these bombs splatted to form complexly shaped bomb fragments connected by thick strands and masses of Pele's hair.

This VIDEO CLIP shows a cloud of ash and spatter being thrown from the summit lava lake during today's explosive event. The images were captured by an HVO webcam located on the rim of Halema‘uma‘u Crater, just above the rockfall area. Spatter falling onto the crater rim is a reminder of the hazards that exist in this area, which has been closed since 2008.

VIDEO CLIP captured by HVO webcam: At 11:59 a.m., a rockfall from the south wall of Halema‘uma‘u Crater triggered a small explosive event in the summit lava lake. The explosion threw spatter (fragments of molten lava) onto the rim of the crater, mostly to the west of the former visitor overlook.

Only a relatively small amount of spatter reached the rim of Halema‘uma‘u, compared to the thick, continuous layer of spatter seen here on the intermediate ledge midway between the lava lake and the Halema‘uma‘u Crater rim.

A clear evening provided good views of the lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u Crater at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. Spattering was active along the south margin (left side) of the lava lake, with the gas plume drifting to the southwest (upper left).

This close-up view of the lava lake surface on the south side of the lake shows a typical spreading zone. In this image, the crustal plates on both sides of the incandescent line are migrating to the south (toward the lower left corner of the photo), but the crust on the left side is moving more rapidly to the south than the crust on the right.

A slightly wider view of the lake surface, encompassing the photo at left. The lake surface is migrating to the south (lower left corner of image), towards the spatter source visible in the lava lake photo above.

A close-up view showing the ropy texture that forms on the surface of pāhoehoe lava.

HVO geologists hiked across the 61g flow field to investigate this breakout at the base of the pali on Kīlauea Volcano's south flank. Toes of active pāhoehoe lava were slowly advancing on top of older ‘A‘ā and pāhoehoe flows erupted earlier this year.

A past assumption about pumice deposits on Kīlauea Volcano has recently been proven wrong. In this photo, the eastern pumice (EP) can be seen above the golden pumice (GP), with stream deposits between the two. Photo courtesy of Sebastien Biasse, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.

A breakout started from the episode 61g vent on the east flank of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō yesterday morning (Monday, November 21) at around 08:40 AM. The breakout sent lava flows south and northeast, and these flows were still active as of Tuesday afternoon (November 22).

Southern California cliff and cliff-top development in Isla Vista, California

Volcanologists collaborate on how to best communicate volcanic hazard and risk via long-term assessments at the third Volcano Observatory Best Practices workshop in Vancouver, Washington from November 15th to 18th, 2016.

A young 'ua'u exercises its wings in preparation for its first flight directly out to sea. The 'ua'u, or Hawaiian petrel, is a federally endangered native seabird that nests at high elevations on Mauna Loa volcano.

Participants discuss volcano hazards during the third Volcano Observatory Best Practices Workshop, held November 15-18, 2016, in Vancouver, Washington.

Participants of the third Volcano Observatory Best Practices Workshop, convened November 15-18, 2016, in Vancouver, Washington.

Participants discuss volcano hazards during the third Volcano Observatory Best Practices Workshop, held November 15-18, 2016, in Vancouver, Washington.