Images

This thermal image shows Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō (see visual photograph at left for equivalent view). Recently, the southeast and northeast spatter cones have produced small overflows out of the crater, shown clearly here by their warm temperatures.

Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō looms in the background in this photo taken from about 4 km (2.5 miles) away. The source of the Kahauale‘a 2 flow—a spatter cone at the northeast edge of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō's crater floor—forms the knuckle-like bump just above the center of the photo. The Kahauale‘a 2 lava tube is marked by the fuming areas that extend to the right down the flank of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō.

Lava erupted a few times from two different spatter cones on Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō's crater floor over the past few weeks. These show up as the lighter-colored flows on the near (southeast) flank of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. The larger spatter cone to the right, with the obvious fume trace leading away from it to the right (marking the lava tube), is the source of the Kahauale‘a 2 flow.

Incandescent skylights adorn the spatter cone and the lava tube in this close shot of the source for the Kahauale‘a 2 flow. The lighter-colored flows in the foreground are recent flows which broke out from the near side of the spatter cone. Webcams and other monitoring equipment dot the north rim of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō in the background.

Incandescent skylights adorn the spatter cone and the lava tube in this close shot of the source for the Kahauale‘a 2 flow. The lighter-colored flows in the foreground are recent flows which broke out from the near side of the spatter cone. Webcams and other monitoring equipment dot the north rim of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō in the background.

Looking north towards Mono Lake and Mono Craters from the summit of Reverse Peak.

Lava erupted a few times from two different spatter cones on Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō's crater floor over the past few weeks. These show up as the lighter-colored flows on the near (southeast) flank of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. The larger spatter cone to the right, with the obvious fume trace leading away from it to the right (marking the lava tube), is the source of the Kahauale‘a 2 flow.

The tip of the Kahauale‘a 2 flow was 7.3 km (4.5 miles) from Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō when mapped on November 21. Active breakouts were scattered all across the flow up to about 4 km back from the front.

Lava erupted a few times from two different spatter cones on Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō's crater floor over the past few weeks. These show up as the lighter-colored flows on the near (southeast) flank of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. The larger spatter cone to the right, with the obvious fume trace leading away from it to the right (marking the lava tube), is the source of the Kahauale‘a 2 flow.

Mount Adams viewed from the southeast.

USGS Photo, looking north, at what remained of Lake Waiau on September 26, 2013. The water area was just 15 meters (yards) wide at this time. Prior to 2010, the lake occupied the entirety of the now-dry lake bed, which is about 100 meters (yards) wide. The astronomical telescopes at the summit off Mauna Kea are visible on the skyline.

Very few surface flows have been observed in Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater over the past month, but the crater today was far from quiet. The spatter cone shown here, in the northern portion of the crater, was producing a loud, continuous jetting sound resulting from gas being forced through a tiny opening at the peak.

No activity was observed on the Peace Day flow on today's overflight, meaning that the Kahauale‘a 2 flow is now the sole active flow. The Kahauale‘a 2 flow today had reached 6.4 km (4.0 miles) northeast of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō, and was burning vegetation around the forest boundary.

Active pāhoehoe breakouts are scattered across portions of the Kahauale‘a 2 flow. This photo shows a nice example of ropy pāhoehoe active near the flow margin.

Much of the Kahauale‘a 2 flow has traveled over ‘A‘ā from Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō's early activity in the 1980s. This photo shows a lobe of the Kahauale‘a 2 flow advancing over a section of this older ‘A‘ā, burning moss and small trees that have grown on the ‘A‘ā clinker.

USGS scientist Monica Langhorst measures gage height with a wire weight at Onion Creek at U.S. Highway 183 in Austin, TX.

USGS scientists Craig Weiss and Michael Scheider make a streamflow measurement at Onion Creek at U.S. Highway 183 in Austin, TX.

USGS scientist Mark Warzecha makes a streamflow measurement with Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler downstream of a USGS streamgage station on the Blanco River at Interstate 35. The streamgage is not currently accessible, so a measurement is being made at the safest downstream location. 

USGS scientist Monica Langhorst measures gage height with a wire weight at Onion Creek at U.S. Highway 183 in Austin, TX.

Crews test two methods of measuring discharge of the Muddy River near Mount St. Helens, Washington. The computer and tethered orange float create a vertical discharge profile; the hand-held flow tracker confirms the data. Data collection is becoming more electronic-oriented with periodic confirmation of results by physical observations.

Information regarding magma formation, mixing and its ascent to the surface can be deduced from examination of thin sections (thin slices of rock mounted on glass). Science teachers look on as a sample of basalt is viewed under a petrographic microscope.