Images

The Kamokuna ocean entry and lava delta remain active, with no obvious changes over the past week. The large coast-parallel crack that spans the width of the delta (seen from lower-left to upper-right of image) remains prominent, and highlights the instability of the delta.

Joseph Terrano of the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center retrieves a sediment sample from under the marsh grass. Scientists installed several Net Sediment Tiles (NST) on the surface of the marsh to measure sediment deposition.

Kīlauea Volcano's Kamokuna ocean entry photographed on May 23, 2017 (left) and July 13, 2017 (right) show how lava flowing from the tube has both widened and thickened the delta. Near the sea cliff, the delta appears to have doubled in thickness over the past seven weeks, creating a distinctly sloped surface from the base of the cliff to the sea.

Lead-in to the Mud Creek slide UAS (drone) footage, Big Sur, California, July 19. 2017.

The small computer, or “micro-controller,” at the bottom of this photo controls the operation of two video cameras mounted on the 10-story Dream Inn hotel in Santa Cruz, California.

Geologists visiting the June 26 breakout today (July 13) found the front (pictured) stalled with no active lava visible. There has been no significant advancement of the flow front since July 8, and is still 2.2 km (1.4 miles) from the road.

This video clip (at x30 speed) shows the pāhoehoe breakouts on the coastal plain.

There have been no major changes at the Kamokuna ocean entry or lava delta. The delta remains unstable, with a large crack (noted earlier this week) that spans the entire width of the delta.

"Geologic map of the northeast flank of Mauna Loa volcano, Island of Hawai‘i," published by the U.S. Geological Survey in May 2017, shows the distribution of lava flows and other deposits covering an area from Pu‘u‘Ula‘ula ("Red Hill") on the southwest to Hilo on the northeast.

Near San Simeon, view looks north up Highway 1 along the California coast toward Big Sur.

Drone’s-eye views of the toe of the Mud Creek landslide, from videos shot by Shawn Harrison on July 12, 2017

Spattering is common in the summit lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u Crater. This afternoon, spattering was active at a site along the east lake margin. Spatter deposits have built a small ledge extending out from the crater walls (lower right of photo), onto which fluid spatter often falls.

A wider view of the lava lake in the Overlook crater, taken from the rim of Halema‘uma‘u Crater (closed to the public due to volcanic hazards).

A view of the outgassing plume produced by the summit lava lake. The photo was taken from Uēkahuna Bluff, near HVO and the National Park Service Jaggar Museum.

The June 26 breakout remains active at the flow front, which can be distinguished by the light silver color at the bottom-center of the photo.

Screen shot of eerial imagery from unmanned aerial systems (UAS) flights over the Lake Ontario shoreline at Braddock Bay, New York, July 10 to 11, 2017

This map shows recent changes to Kīlauea's East Rift Zone lava flow field. The area of the active flow field as of June 21 is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the active flow as of July 10 is shown in red. Older Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō lava flows (1983-2016) are shown in gray. The yellow line is the trace of the active lava tube.

A zoomed in view of the Kamokuna lava delta reveals several crack systems parallel to the sea cliff which suggests instability of the delta. Over the past few weeks, flows on the delta have built up the surface near the base of the cliff creating a slope seaward.

This image shows a comparison of a normal photograph (left) with a thermal image (right) of the lava delta. The cracks spanning the delta, and the warm water plumes extending out from the entry point, are evident in the thermal image.

This video clip gives a view of the ocean entry and the cracks on the lava delta.

USGS scientists continue to monitor the slide by collecting imagery every couple of weeks, weather permitting. Pilot Bob Van Wagenen, contracted through the Department of the Interior’s Office of Aviation Services, takes air photos for Jon Warrick’s Big Sur Landslide team, flying out of the Watsonville Municipal Airport in a Cessna 182R.