Images

Temporary Global Positioning Systems (GPS) stations are deployed to determine if uplift continues in the Three Sisters area. Since surface changes were discovered in 2001, the rate of uplift has decreased to less than 1.0 cm (0.4 in.) per year.

Map showing the June 27th flow in Kīlauea's East Rift Zone as of August 28, 2014. The area of the flow as mapped on August 27 is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the flow as of August 28 is shown in red. All older lava flows (1983-2014) are shown in gray. The thin yellow line marks a portion of the lava tube feeding the flow.

Steaming (center of photograph) was reported this morning east of the small pad of lava (just above center) that emerged from a ground crack this past week. This renewed progression of steaming suggests that lava is again continuing to advance beneath the surface, along these ground cracks.

This figure compares the photo above with an equivalent view from a thermal camera. The plumes of smoke mark the farthest active lava on the surface (small, scattered lobes of pāhoehoe), which are also shown as small hotspots in the thermal image.

Closer to the vent on Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō, one of several skylights provides a view of the flowing lava stream within the lava tube. This lava tube supplies lava from the vent to the active surface flows near the flow front.

Another view of the lava expanding into the forest.

Slow-moving pāhoehoe advances through thick forest northeast of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. The pāhoehoe lobes surround, and burn through, the base of the trees. By the time the trees topple over, the lava surface temperature has cooled sufficiently that the downed trees do not completely burn through, leaving a field of tree trunks on the recent lava surface.

A closer of the new steaming. The thick vegetation obscures direct views of the ground crack, and only a line of steaming and browned vegetation is evident at the surface.

A closer view of the southern lobe of the June 27th lava flow. Smoke plumes originate from active surface breakouts, the farthest today reached 8.5 km (5.3 miles) from the vent on Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. The spot at which this lobe plunged into a deep ground crack last week can be seen near the bottom of the photograph.

The June 27th flow remains active, but surface flows at the very farthest reaches of the flow appear to have stalled today. The lava flow front consisted of an isolated pad of lava that emerged from a deep ground crack several days ago. Today, this pad of lava appeared inactive at the surface, with no sign obvious activity in the adjacent crack.

Another view of the south lobe of the June 27th flow, which plunged into a deep ground crack last week (this spot is visible at the right side of the photograph). This wide view, looking west, also shows another deep crack nearby, a short distance to the south of the active flows (which are producing the smoke plumes).

The isolated pad of lava that emerged from the deep ground crack several days ago did not have any active breakouts at the surface today, but incandescent lava could be seen in numerous cracks on the surface. This likely represents lava that had ponded within the flow and remains hot, but immobile.

A comparison of the normal photograph (see above) of the south lobe of the June 27th flow with an equivalent view from the thermal camera. The thermal camera clearly shows the extent of the farthest active breakout, which was relatively small.

USGS summer geology interns Alexandra Pickering and Nikita Avdievitch collecting topographic data with a three-dimensional laser scanner on August 26. Surface rupture from the 2014 South Napa Earthquake is visible in the foreground

The new volcanic-gas monitoring station installed at Mount St. Helens consists of weather monitoring equipment and sensors for measuring the concentrations of water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in volcanic gas plumes.

Map showing the June 27th flow in Kīlauea's East Rift Zone as of August 25, 2014. The area of the flow as mapped on August 22 is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the flow as of August 25 is shown in red. The brown line marks the ground crack that channeled lava to the east, where it emerged to form a new pad of lava over the past couple of days.

A view of the small pad of lava that has emerged from the crack over the past day. The lava pad was about 800 m (0.5 miles) long, and was about 1.3 km (0.8 miles) east of the point where lava plunged into the crack.

Another view of the isolated pad of lava that has emerged from the crack. This view is towards the east, along the East Rift Zone. The spot at which lava flowed into the crack is to the west, out of view beyond the bottom of the photograph.

The leading edge of the June 27th lava flow plunged into a deep crack on Kīlauea's East Rift Zone last week, and lava within the crack remained hidden for several days. Over the past day, lava returned to the surface at a point slightly farther along the crack, creating a small island of lava surrounded by thick forest.

Seismic Lab aboard R/V Marcus G. Langseth

View of the pad of lava with the equivalent view from a thermal camera.