Images

Rocks from the east rim of Kīlauea Volcano's summit vent fell into the lava lake at 10:02 p.m., HST, on Saturday, August 6, triggering an explosive event that hurled fragments of molten and solid rock onto the rim of Halema‘uma‘u Crater.

On Friday afternoon, three areas of spattering on the summit lava lake surface produced abundant volcanic gas emissions, one of the main hazards near the Halema‘uma‘u Crater vent. Earlier this morning, spattering lava was visible from a safe distance at Jaggar Museum Overlook in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

 Aerial photograph of active lava lake in Hale maʻumaʻu Crater at the summit of Kīlauea volcano.

Perched on the rim of Kīlauea Volcano's summit caldera, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and NPS Jaggar Museum (foreground) overlook the active lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u Crater. The black lava flows to the left and right of the fuming vent spilled onto the crater floor in April-May 2015, when the lava lake briefly filled to overflowing.

USGS HVO geochemist measuring gases released from Kīlauea with a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer, an instrument that detects gas compositions on the basis of absorbed infrared light.

The active lava flow on Kīlauea Volcano's south flank providing wonderful lava-viewing experiences for Park visitors. A section of the road can be seen here, with fume from the active lava tube in the far distance behind it, and the active flow front in the foreground. The flow front was less than 100 meters (yards) from the ocean when this photo was taken.

USGS HVO geochemist measuring gases released from Kīlauea with a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer, an instrument that detects gas compositions on the basis of absorbed infrared light.

Research projects with the USGS take scientists to beautiful places and Mauna Kea volcano on Hawai‘i Island is no exception. Here is a palila field crew camping site on the north slope of Mauna Kea as the sun sets.  

The active lava flow continues to creep across the coastal plain on Kīlauea's south flank. Breakouts of pāhoehoe (foreground) are fed by lava traveling through lava tubes from the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō vent and down Pūlama pali (top background). USGS photo.

Map of Kīlauea's active lava flow as of July 19, 2016. Red shows the extent of new breakouts since July 8; pink shows the flow prior as of July 8, and gray shows areas covered by earlier Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō lava flows (1983-2016).

Tina Neal, HVO Scientist-in-Charge from 2015–2020 ends her tenure on June 19, 2020.

A long, hot hike was not needed to see red lava today. Vigorous spattering from Kīlauea Volcano's summit lava lake was visible from the Jaggar Museum Overlook in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park as of this afternoon. The lava lake surface, measured at 25 m (82 ft) below the vent rim this morning, was high enough for the spattering to be seen from afar.

As Kīlauea Volcano's active pāhoehoe flow spreads across the coastal plain on July 6, the new lava appeared more shiny or silvery compared with the older lava beneath it. Molten "toes" of lava breaking out from the leading edges of the flow can be seen in the lower right quadrant of the photo. USGS photo.

This map of Kīlauea Volcano's lava flow shows the locations of Hawai‘i County's designated lava-viewing and parking areas (http://www.hawaiicounty.gov/lava-viewing/), as well as the lava flow's location relative to the Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park boundary (green line).

A video of the spattering in the lava lake at Kīlauea's summit.

At the time the photograph was taken, the active lava flow from Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō was on the slope near the top of the Pūlama pali, one of the steep escarpments on Kīlauea's southeast flank, and had transitioned into a channelized ‘a‘ā flow.

Spattering was vigorous in the Kīlauea's summit lava lake this evening, but within the range of normal variation. Spatter was thrown up to the level of the floor of Halema‘uma‘u Crater, about 25 m (80 ft) above the lake surface.

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists investigate a portion of the Great Crack in the Keaiwa flow field on Kīlauea Volcano's Southwest Rift Zone. USGS photo.

This rapidly moving ‘A‘ā lava flow was one of several that advanced down the west flank of Mauna Loa during the volcano's 1950 eruption. The massive flow, tens of meters (yards) high, traveled from the Southwest Rift Zone vent to the ocean, a distance of about 18 km (11 mi), in around 18 hours.

Video of spattering along the north margin of Kīlauea Volcano's summit lava lake.

A USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory chemist conducts thermal imaging measurements as part of a geochemical survey on Mauna Loa's upper Southwest Rift Zone in March 2016. Areas like the one shown here can indicate where gases are escaping from magma at depth. USGS photo.