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Clear day during tradewind conditions at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i

Gas plume rising from Halema‘uma‘u Crater, Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i

Volcanic-gas plume rises from Halema‘uma‘u Crater, Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i

A plume of volcanic gases (chiefly water vapor, carbon dioxide, and sulfur dioxide), tiny lava and rock particles, and droplets drifts southwest in the tradewinds from Halema‘uma‘u Crater.

U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory perched on the rim of Kīlauea Volcano's summit caldera, Hawai‘i

Close view of the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (right, with viewing tower) and National Park Service Jaggar Museum and overlook (left) on Kīlauea Volcano's caldera rim. At least three fault blocks can be seen below the observatory, which developed when Kīlauea's summit collapsed about 500 years ago to form the present-day caldera.

This section of Crater Rim Drive in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park was closed in February 2008 because of the high concentration of volcanic gas blowing across the road from Halema‘uma‘u Crater by prevailing trade winds. The concentration of sulfur dioxide gas in this area is considered hazardous to human health.

Volcanic-gas plume rises from Halema‘uma‘u Crater as seen from the Jaggar Museum (Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park) viewing area next to the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

Volcanic gas plume rises from Halema‘uma‘u Crater, Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i

Volcanic gas plume rises from Halema‘uma‘u Crater, Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i

Volcanic-gas plume rising from summit of Kīlauea Volcano as seen from Highway 11, Hawai‘i

Strong tradewinds blow the gas plume from the Overlook vent in Halema‘uma‘u Crater to the southwest. Photograph taken at 4:37 a.m. HST.

Ash and other lava fragments erupted from the new vent in HALE‘Ama‘uMAU Crater were collected almost daily from several wooden "tear catchers" located near the crater rim and from many more plastic buckets nearby. Six years later, ash collections are still made several times a week.

Kīlauea Volcano's summit vent within Halema‘uma‘u Crater was about 115 feet in diameter in April 2008, a month after it opened. 

Gas plume rising from the new Overlook Vent in Halema‘uma‘u Crater, Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i. Trade winds blow the plume to the southwest.

A plume of volcanic gases (chiefly water vapor, carbon dioxide, and sulfur dioxide), tiny lava and rock particles, and droplets drifts southwest in the tradewinds from Halema‘uma‘u Crater.

This telephoto image shows dark fragments of molten and semi-solid lava being blasted upward and outward during a hydrovolcanic explosion at the Waikupanaha ocean entry west of Kalapana in April 2008. Similar explosions are occurring at Kīlauea Volcano's current lower East Rift Zone ocean entry.

Ash-rich plume rises out of Halemaʻumaʻu Crater, Kilauea Volcano Hawaiʻi.
 

View of ash-rich plume rising from a new vent in Halema‘uma‘u Crater in Kīlauea Caldera 5 days after the first explosion from the vent occurred on March 19, 2008. The ash is turning the formerly white steam and gas plume a dusty-brown color. Note the ash fallout down-wind of the plume.

HVO technicians install a solar-powered seismic station near the summit of Kīlauea Volcano to monitor earthquake activity. The seismic data is transmitted via radio signal directly to the observatory, where the data is initially analyzed by automatic computer programs and then examined in greater detail by a seismologist. Mauna Loa Volcano in background.

The rim of Kīlauea Volcano’s summit caldera, normally clear on trade-wind days (left), became nearly obscured by vog (right) on some non-trade wind days beginning in 2008, when sulfur dioxide emissions from the volcano’s summit increased to unusually high levels. (This photo has been edited.)