Images

A U.S. Army Air Corps biplane is prepared for a mission to drop bombs on a lava flow advancing toward Hilo during the Mauna Loa 1935 eruption.

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists examine an outcrop of reddish-brown Hilo ash during a recent study to investigate the origins of volcanic ash deposits on the Island of Hawai‘i. Age dates of lava flows above and below the Hilo ash deposit indicate that the ash was erupted between 3,000 and 14,000 years ago. 

The sampling mechanism (on blue tarp) is prepared and the Unoccupied Aircraft System (UAS) is inspected just before take off to collect water from the Halema‘uma‘u crater lake. Brightly colored flagging tape tied to a cable attached to the UAS indicated depth as the sampling tool was lowered into the water. 

Geophysicist Brian Shiro, manager of the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory's seismic network, was part of HVO's team that installed several new stations on Kīlauea Volcano's lower East Rift Zone to monitor earthquakes during the 2018 eruption.

Retired USGS botanist Linda Pratt, USGS research geologists Patricia Nadeau and Jennifer Lewicki, and USGS chemist Tamar Elias (left to right) are part of a team investigating a critically endangered succulent plant, Portulaca sclerocarpa, in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park's Puhimau thermal area.

_{This Portulaca sclerocarpa (‘Ihi mākole) individual (center) surrounded by invasive grass species is a critically endangered plant. The small metal tag to the right notes the plant's permanent identification number for long-term monitoring purposes.}

As fissure 8 erupts on Kīlauea Volcano's lower East Rift Zone in June 2018 (left), a Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometer measures gas emissions from the lava fountains. At right, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory gas geochemistry team members collect a sample of gas from Sulphur Banks in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

After a sample was collected, HVO team members transferred water from the sampling device to plastic bottles. Team members took notes, measured water pH and evaluated water temperature data for each sample collected.   

After days of rain, a window of clear weather allowed HVO geologists to make observations and take measurements of the water pond at Kīlauea's summit on January 17, 2020. No major changes were observed, and the water level continues to slowly rise. 

A close-up view of the Kilauea pond shows the color variations across the surface, and sharp boundaries among zones of different color.

Thomas A. Jaggar, shown at his desk circa 1925, founded the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory in 1912 and served as its Director until he retired in 1940.

An HVO scientist tests a colorimeter instrument on the water lake within Halema‘uma‘u, at Kīlauea's summit. Colorimetry is the measurement of the wavelength and intensity of light. USGS photo by M. Patrick. 

The recently published "Geologic map of the central-southeast flank of Mauna Loa" (https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/sim2932B), shown here, uses color to depict ages of geologic units, with warm colors denoting younger units and cool colors indicating older units.

ANIMATED GIF: The KWcam webcam has been imaging the Kīlauea summit water lake for just over a year now, tracking visual changes in the lake including water level and color.

About 1300 earthquakes with magnitudes greater than 1 and at depths over 20 km (12 mi) on and around the Island of Hawai‘i since August 2019 are depicted on this map. Most of the earthquakes were clustered beneath the southern edge of the island near the town of Pāhala.

ANNIMATED GIF: This animated image file (GIF) of the Kīlauea summit water lake is a cropped version this file, showing a close-up view of the lake.

A sample of the digital elevation model from the 2019 LiDAR survey of Kīlauea, showing the vicinity of the former HVO office and Jaggar Museum in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

Jo Schmith examining ash from Katla volcano in Iceland. 

The December 18 overflight provided updated thermal images of Kīlauea summit, covering the caldera floor and showing the warm surface of the water pond in Halema‘uma‘u crater. A band of warm temperatures persists along the new cliff formed during the 2018 subsidence.

The December 18, 2019, overflight provided updated aerial photographs of Kīlauea summit, covering the caldera floor and showing the current size of the water pond in Halema‘uma‘u crater.

The growing lake of groundwater within Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano as it looked on December 18, 2019.