Images

Another GPS survey benchmark being occupied on Mauna Loa's lower southwest flank. USGS photo by A. Ellis.

Campaign, also known as 'survey', GPS data augment the permanent, continuously recording GPS instruments in HVO's monitoring network. In this photo, a tripod mounted with a GPS antenna is temporarily installed over a benchmark the rim of Moku‘āweoweo, the caldera at the summit of Mauna Loa.

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory staff are conducting the annual Mauna Loa GPS campaign. During the survey, GPS instruments are deployed at established benchmarks so that their recorded positions can be compared with those from previous years to discern small changes in ground deformation associated with volcanic activity.

A GPS benchmark on west side of Mauna Loa's summit being measured with campaign GPS equipment during the annual Mauna Loa GPS campaign survey. Hualālai is visible in the background. USGS photo by A. Ellis.
 

A cropped comparison of two USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory webcam images showing changes to the landscape of Kīlauea summit region over the past six months. Twenty-five episodes of lava fountaining within Halemaʻumaʻu have contributed to a growing deposit of tephra material in the closed area of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, southwest of the vents. 

The ongoing Halema‘uma‘u Kīlauea summit eruption continued today with episode 25, which began at 11:57 am HST. Fountains from the north vent reached approximately 1000 feet (305 m) while south vent fountains were continuously less than 165 feet (50 m).

Wednesday June 11 is Kamehameha Day in Hawaii, and many island residents took advantage of the state holiday to visit Kīlauea and watch episode 25 of the ongoing summit eruption in Halemaʻumaʻu. The back lawn of Volcano House has been popular observation post, with expansive views of Kaluapele (the summit caldera) and the lava fountain in the distance.

On Wednesday June 11, the twenty-fifth episode of the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption occurred. twenty-fifth episode from Volcano House within HAWAII Volcanoes National Park. In this photo, captured around 1:45 p.m.

Late in the afternoon on Wednesday, June 11, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists visited the western rim of Halemaʻumaʻu crater for a closer look at the active Kīlauea summit eruptive vents. Even several hours into eruptive episode 25, lava fountains were still reaching higher than the crater rim, over 500 ft (150 m) tall. USGS photo by M.

Photo compilation of episodes 1–25 of the ongoing eruption at the summit of Kīlauea, including webcam imagery and photos taken by USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists on the ground and during helicopter overflights. In all photos except for episode 7, the south vent is on the left and the north vent is on the right.

This map shows lava flow and tephra accumulation at Kīlauea volcano associated with episode 24 of the ongoing eruption in Halemaʻumaʻu that started on December 23, 2024.  The image covers the timespan from May 30–June 7, 2025, using data recorded by the Italian Space Agency's (ASI) COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation satellite constellation.

This reference map depicts the Kīlauea summit eruption within Halema‘uma‘u crater that began on December 23, 2024. As of this posting on June 6, the eruption continues episodically.

The webcam monitoring the Southwest Rift Zone of Kīlauea is downwind of the vents active during the ongoing eruption at the summit, and it was in the fallout zone of tephra coming from the episode 24 lava fountaining. This image shows a barrage of clasts falling around the camera, with the camera view knocked out of alignment.

Lava fountaining during episode 24 of the ongoing summit eruption of Kīlauea. 

From USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory livestreaming V2cam, a plume-like fountain erupted from the north vent during episode 24 on June 4–5, 2025, creating an elegant arc. With a maximum fountain height of 364 meters (1194 feet), this was the highest fountain observed up until that point. USGS photo. 

This map shows lava flow and tephra accumulation at Kīlauea volcano associated with episode 23 of the ongoing eruption in Halemaʻumaʻu that started on December 23, 2024. The image covers the timespan from May 22–30, 2025, using data recorded by the Italian Space Agency's (ASI) COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation satellite constellation.

This compilation shows thermal maps of Kīlauea summit collected on May 14 and 28, 2025. These maps followed episodes 21 and 23 of the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption, respectively, and both show inactive but warm lava flows produced by the preceding lava fountaining episodes.

A thick deposit of tephra from the high fountaining of episode 23—along with accumulation from previous episodes—of the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption, blankets the southwestern rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater. The deposit, within the closed area of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, underscores the hazardous nature of this area.

A USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist collects high-precision ground positions using a kinematic GPS instrument that measures its vertical and horizontal position. Once processed, these measurements will help scientists determine the thickness of the tephra deposit downwind of the ongoing Halema‘uma‘u eruption at Kīlauea summit.

A close-up view looking at one of the more vesicular pieces of tephra from a recent fountaining episode at Kīlauea summit. When the gas-rich lava erupting from the vents quickly cools, it solidifies with this light and frothy texture. The bubble walls are so thin that the color of this tephra is more golden brown. USGS photo taken by L.

During the pause after episode 23 of the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption, a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientist collects data on the tephra deposits. Buckets are used to collect tephra, and emptied between episodes, to ensure that samples from each episode are isolated to track geochemical changes and determine the amount of tephra that fell at each site.