Images

The area of solidified crust at the surface of Halema‘uma‘u's lava lake, at the summit of Kīlauea, has been growing over the past several weeks. This may make it seem that the eruption is over but lava continues to be supplied to the lava lake from below.

A low, oblique aerial view of the west vent in Halema‘uma‘u at Kīlauea's summit (upper right) taken during an overflight on May 13. The area of active lava has slowly been decreasing in recent weeks, but not all of the lava lake surface has stagnated. Portions of the lake surface continue to resurface via a process called foundering.

A close up view of the western portion of the lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u, at Kīlauea summit. A weak gas plume is emitted from the western fissure vent (left), with the most recent sulfur dioxide emission rate measured at 150 tonnes per day on May 11. USGS photograph taken by D. Downs on May 12, 2021 from the west rim of Halema‘uma‘u.

A wide view of Halema‘uma‘u from the western crater rim, at the summit of Kīlauea. The west vent (lower left) continues to supply lava into the lake through a submerged inlet. Much of the western active lava lake surface has crusted over in the last few weeks as the effusion rate remains low. USGS photograph taken by D. Downs on May 12, 2021.

Another GPS survey benchmark being occupied on Mauna Loa's north flank, with clear views of Mauna Kea in the background. The metal disk on the ground beneath the tripod is the benchmark, which is cemented to the lava flow surface.

On the west side of Mauna Loa summit, a campaign GPS (center-right) measures its location for a period of 2–3 days. This site has been occupied every year by helicopter since 1994. Mauna Kea, Hualālai and Haleakalā can be seen in the distance. USGS photo taken by S.

During the annual Mauna Loa GPS campaign, 33 campaign stations are occupied with GPS instruments for days to weeks. The stations are spread across the flanks of the volcano and provide a synoptic picture of deformation on the volcano over the past year.

Recently, HVO geophysicists completed the annual high-precision Global Positioning System (GPS) survey of Mauna Loa. The annual survey supplements HVO's continuous GPS monitoring stations and provides information on vertical and horizontal deformation of the ground surface.

The lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea, remains active, as seen in this view looking northwest. The active surface lava area continues to decrease in size, and activity is weaker, with only occasional localized surface foundering.

This map of Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea shows 20 m (66 ft) contour lines (dark gray) that mark locations of equal elevation above sea level (asl). The map shows that the lava lake has filled 229 m (751 ft) of the crater, to an elevation of 746 m (2448 ft) asl since the eruption began on December 20, 2020.

This close-up view of the active western portion of the Halema‘uma‘u lava lake at the summit of Kīlauea was captured on Thursday, May 6 through the lens of a laser rangefinder used by HVO scientists to measure distances to features within the crater.

View of the active surface lava in the western portion of Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. The west vent (upper left) continues to erupt lava into the lava lake through an inlet near the base of the cone.

Lava continues to flow from the western vent (bottom left) into the lava lake at Halema‘uma‘u Crater at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, Island of Hawai‘i. A portion of the active surface of the lava lake can be seen here with orange, incandescent lava between the west vent and the main island. This photograph was taken on Wednesday, March 5, 2021, at 12:37 p.m.

GPS campaign survey stations high on the flanks of Mauna Loa offer expansive views of neighboring volcanoes. From this station located west of Mauna Loa summit, Hualālai volcano is visible. Most Mauna Loa GPS campaign survey sites have been occupied every year since 1996, whereas less active volcanoes Hualālai and Haleakalā are surveyed every 3–5 years.

HVO scientists hiked along the closed Crater Rim Road on April 30th to retrieve acoustic (sound) sensors for a scientific study. This section of the road was damaged by earthquake activity during the 2018 Kīlauea summit caldera collapse. This stretch of road traverses part of the September 1982 lava flow, visible as a lobe of black rock on the right of the road.

On Friday, April 30, lava continued to erupt from the west vent in Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. Active surface lava (center of the photo) was limited to the center of the previously active lake surface, where the north (right) and south (left) sides have cooled and crusted over (appearing darker in the image). This photo was taken around 2 p.m.

While hiking along the rim of the 2018 collapse area at the summit of Kīlauea, HVO scientists visited a site to the southeast of Halema‘uma‘u known as Akanikōlea—a culturally-significant place that is featured in Hawaiian legends.

The lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea, remains active, as seen in this view looking north. Active surface lava is limited to the western (left) portion of the lake between the main island and the western fissure complex.

On Monday, April 26, 2021, lava continued to flow from the western vent (bottom left) into the active lava lake (center) in Halema‘uma‘u Crater at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. The active lava lake surface continues to shrink as areas on the north (upper left) and south (center right) sides cool and solidify. This photograph was taken at 1:03 p.m.

A close-up view of the west vent spatter cones (bottom left) and inlet where lava is entering the lava lake (center right) in Halema‘uma‘u Crater at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. A piece of crust, that solidified near the inlet, broke off and was being transported away from the inlet. This photograph was taken on April 26, 2021, at 1:51 p.m.

This map of Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea shows 20 m (66 ft) contour lines (dark gray) that mark locations of equal elevation above sea level (asl). The map shows that the lava lake has filled 228 m (748 ft) of the crater, to an elevation of 745 m (2444 ft) asl since the eruption began on December 20, 2020.