Images

Aerial photograph of Kwajalein Atoll showing its low-lying islands and coral reefs.

Underwater image of a wave breaking over a coral reef on Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. This image shows how the high hydrodynamic roughness of live, healthy corals causes friction that induces breaking of waves over coral reefs, reducing wave energy at the shoreline that can cause flooding and island overwash.

This textbook example of a perched lava lake that formed within the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater in May 2011 shows what could happen with Kīlauea's current summit lava lake if overflows of the Overlook crater vent continue.

One of several webcams and time-lapse camera stations located on the rim of Halema‘uma‘u Crater to record activity of the summit lava lake (in view below camera). HVO is located on the rim of Kīlauea Caldera in upper left (note square-looking tower), located about 2 km (1.2 mi) from this camera site.

Identical to photo at left, but with labels. The dashed white line indicates the lava lake rim.

Photo of the overflowing lava lake taken from the rim of Halema‘uma‘u.

Kīlauea Volcano's summit lava lake, which was about 12 m (40 ft) below the vent rim on April 25 (left), overflowed the vent rim for the first time at about 9:40 p.m., HST, on April 28. As of noon on April 29 (right), the lava lake had overflowed the vent rim several more times. These Webcam images capture the summit vent before and after the overflows.

Photo from the rim of Halema‘uma‘u showing the lava lake in the completely filled Overlook crater. Repeated overflows are beginning to construct levees around the lake, such that the level of the lake is now perched about 2 m (7 ft) above the original floor of Halema‘uma‘u.

An early morning view of the lava lake with a recent overflow onto the floor of Halema‘uma‘u Crater.

A rockfall from the wall of Halema‘uma‘u Crater impacted the lava lake around 10:20 am, triggering an explosion of spatter and smaller particles. HVO geologists working on the far side of the crater captured the initial moments of the plume rising. The explosion deposited a large amount of spatter around the closed Halema‘uma‘u visitor overlook.

A close look at one of the large pieces of spatter thrown onto the rim of Halema‘uma‘u Crater by today's explosion (keys are for scale). The spatter hit the ground in a semi-fluid state, deforming on impact.

The explosion threw spatter that hit the remaining fencing on the Halema‘uma‘u overlook, partly burning it. Keys for scale.

Portions of the Halema‘uma‘u overlook fencing were knocked down by previous explosive events, and also by the wind over the past several years. The downed fencing, shown smoldering here, was then ignited by hot spatter from today's explosive event.

A closer look at the Halema‘uma‘u Crater overlook. The large boulders were ejected during the 1924 explosion, but today's explosive event carpeted the ground with many large pieces of brown spatter.

Gas in the lava lake was rapidly released during the 10:20 am explosive event, causing the lava lake surface to drop a few meters (yards). This photo was taken moments after the explosive event, and shows the overhanging ledge of lava along the rim that was exposed as the lava level dropped.

Early this morning, prior to the explosive event at 10:20 am, the lake was close to the floor of Halema‘uma‘u Crater, with spattering along the lake margin.

Spatter from the explosion also landed on the Halema‘uma‘u webcam, melting some of the wire insulation but not enough to interrupt its operation.

Rocks from the crater wall fell into the summit lava lake and generated an explosion that threw large fragments of molten lava onto the rim of Halema‘uma‘u Crater, 85 m (280 ft) above the lake. Gas in the lava lake was rapidly released during the 10:20 am explosive event, causing the lava lake surface to drop a few meters (yards) after the explosion.

This photo shows another view of the lava lake, from a different perspective, when it was at its highest level.

Another view of spattering this morning.

This photo shows the lava lake in the Overlook crater this morning, when it reached to within 3 m (10 ft) of the floor of Halema‘uma‘u. This is the highest the lava lake has reached during the current summit eruption.