Images

At 8:00 a.m. HST. A slow sticky a'a flow emerges from a new fissure just over a half mile northeast of the end of Hinalo Street. The new fissure - fissure 17 - is about one half mile south of Hwy 132. Some reports have referred to this fissure as number 18 but that is not correct. Fissure 18 had not erupted by this time.

At 10:31 a.m. HST. Cracks on Hwy 132 marked with orange spray paint to track changes through time.

Main map shows the location of fissure 16, as well as earlier fissures, lava flows, and steaming areas, as of 12:00 p.m. HST, May 12. Inset map shows fissures in Leilani Estates in the order they occurred since May 3. Shaded purple areas indicate lava flows erupted in 1840, 1955, 1960, and 2014-2015.

At 08:27 a.m. HST, aerial view of fissure 16, located about 1.3 km (0.8 miles) northeast of fissure 15 (top left). The fissure is located 500 m northeast of the Puna Geothermal Venture site (top right). Photograph courtesy of Hawai`i County Fire Department.

5/12/18, 08:27 a.m. HST - An aerial view of fissure 16, located about 1.3 km (0.8 miles) northeast of fissure 15 (top left). The fissure is located 500 m northeast of the Puna Geothermal Venture site (top right). Photograph courtesy of Hawai`i County Fire Department.

5/12/18, 12:57 p.m. HST - Lava was slowly advancing from fissure 16.

To help us understand what could happen at Kīlauea Volcano's summit, we look to past similar events, but this does not mean that future events will be exactly the same. This map shows the distribution of ballistics and tephra from the 1924 phreatic (steam-driven) explosions.

On the morning of May 9, 2018, a large rockfall in "Overlook crater" within Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea triggered a gas-driven explosion that sent an ash plume several thousand feet skyward. Phreatic (steam-driven) explosions can create larger ash plumes; the 1924 explosions sent ash plumes up to 20,000 feet high. USGS photo.

At 9:06 a.m. HST, 5/11/18, an ash plume rose from the Overlook crater at Kīlauea's summit. Similar to recent plumes, this event was likely caused by a rockfall from the crater's steep walls.

A team of USGS scientists work off the R/V Sallenger in Rockaway Beach, New York. One team member stands on a floating sled that enables sub‐bottom surveying in shallow water, nearshore, and shore‐face environments. The sled is equipped with an EdgeTech SB‐512i CHIRP system and single‐beam sonar.

The summit lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u crater has dropped substantially over the past week due to intrusive and eruptive activity on the lower East Rift zone. This 3D model of the crater was created from thermal images collected during a helicopter overflight on May 8. The lake at this time was roughly 295 m (970 feet) below the floor of Halema‘uma‘u Crater.

This thermal map shows the fissure system during an overflight of the area this afternoon. Fissure 15, at the northeast end of the fissure system, formed today but was only briefly active. The black and white area is the extent of the thermal map.

Ash column rises from the Overlook crater at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. HVO's interpretation is that the explosion was triggered by a rockfall from the steep walls of Overlook crater. The photograph was taken 5/9/18 at 8:29 a.m. HST from the Jaggar Museum overlook.

Severe ground cracks associated with fissure 14 in Leilani Estates. 

HVO geologist measured a temperature of 103 degrees C (218 degree F) at a crack along Nohea Street, Leilani Estates. The asphalt road was describes as "mushy" from the heat.

 The beach-dependent shorebirds project at the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center relies heavily on collaborations with other DOI agencies, such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service.

USGS scientists measure beach elevation and other profile characteristics as part of a project that models how barrier islands will likely change with sea-level rise - and how those changes will ultimately affect piping plover and other shorebird nesting habitat availability.

This map shows the locations of fissures and an ‘A‘ā flow erupted since May 3 in the order that they occurred in Leilani Estates as of 7:00 p.m. HST, May 8. The purple areas are lava flows erupted in 1840, 1955, 1960, and 2014-2015.

Ash column rises from the Overlook crater at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. HVO's interpretation is that the explosion was triggered by a rockfall from the steep walls of Overlook crater. The photograph was taken at 8:29 a.m. HST from the Jaggar Museum overlook. The explosion was short-lived.

At 13:00 p.m. HST. Aerial view from the Hawaii County Fire Department of fissure 15. The fissure cut across Pohoiki Road.

This map shows the locations of fissures and an 'a'ā flow erupted since May 3 in the order that they occurred in Leilani Estates as of 5:30 p.m. HST, May 9. Note the area of heavy steaming from ground cracks that began earlier this afternoon, located west of Highway 130. The purple areas are lava flows erupted in 1840, 1955, 1960, and 2014-2015.