Images

During the June 3, 2024, Southwest Rift Zone eruption, Fissures 1 and 2 (pictured here) had low erupted volumes compared to fissures 3 and 4. Fissures 1 and 2 were located closer to Kalupele (Kīlauea summit caldera), whereas fissures 3 and 4 are on the southwest section of the fissure system. USGS Image by A.R. Nalesnik.

Aerial overview of fissures 3 and 4 of the now paused Kīlauea Southwest Rift Zone eruption that began on June 3, 2024. During an overflight at approximately 8:15 a.m. HST on June 6, 2024, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists observed persistent gas emissions and no active lava. USGS Image by A.R. Nalesnik.

On June 6, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory field engineers installed a new seismometer on the Southwest Rift Zone of Kīlauea to monitor earthquakes. The new seismic station is co-located at an existing monitoring station consisting of a GPS and high-resolution gas monitoring equipment.

The new seismometer at station KOSM on the Southwest Rift Zone of Kīlauea being buried in the ground, with permission from Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. This photo was taken before the seismometer was totally buried.

During the Kīlauea Southwest Rift Zone eruption on June 3, fissures 3 and 4—located farther to the southwest than fissures 1 and 1— erupted the larger volumes of lava and continue to exhibit elevated gas emissions.

These two thermal maps were constructed from images captured during USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory helicopter overflights on June 3, 2024, at 6:00 a.m. HST (left) and June 4, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. HST (right). Covering the same extent and using the same thermal color scale, you may notice slight expansion of lava flows to the south following the first overflight.

View to the southwest of Kīlauea's Southwest Rift Zone eruption vents emitting volcanic gas, as seen from the Red Hill Cabin on Mauna Loa's Northeast Rift Zone midday on June 4, 2024. USGS photo by K. Lynn.

The eruption on Kīlauea's Southwest Rift Zone remained paused on Tuesday, June 4, but Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists visited the area to take measurements of the previous day's lava flows. Here, a geologist examines part of the lava flow from fissure 2.

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists visited the now inactive fissures that formed on June 3rd on the upper Southwest Rift Zone of Kīlauea. Looking through a hand lens, geologists recognize the abundance of olivine ranging from 1-3 mm (about 0.1 inch) in size in the spatter samples.

Kīlauea volcano is erupting. A new eruption began at approximately 12:30 a.m. HST on Monday, June 3, likely about a mile (1-2 km) south of Kīlauea caldera and north of the Koa'e fault system and Hilina Pali Road, within Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.

The glow from the eruption of Kīlauea volcano, visible from Volcano House in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park during the early morning hours of June 3. Image courtesy of Volcano House. 

During the early morning hours of June 3, 2024, the night sky was illuminated by the glow of new eruption south of Kīlauea summit caldera. In this image, taken with a prolonged exposure time, the Milky Way is also visible. USGS image by D.A. Phillips. 

In this photo taken at about 6 a.m. HST on June 3, both lava fountains (left) and emissions of volcanic ash (right) are visible erupting from the new fissures in Kīlauea's Southwest Rift Zone. The ash is dark gray, while the remainder of the whitish plumes are composed of steam and other volcanic gases. USGS photo by Tricia Nadeau (HVO)

A field team of HVO geochemists visited the site of Kīlauea's Southwest Rift Zone fissure eruption to measure gases released from the fissures. The team used a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer, an instrument that detects gas compositions on the basis of absorbed infrared light. USGS photo by Tricia Nadeau (HVO)

Aerial image of the Southwest Rift Zone eruption of Kīlauea, viewed during an overflight at approximately 6 a.m. on June 3, 2024. USGS image.

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists visited the young lava flows formed within the past 9 hours on the upper Southwest Rift Zone of Kīlauea volcano. At the eruption site, geologists documented lava flow margins, collected samples, and deployed a new webcam to monitor the eruption. USGS image taken the morning of June 3, 2024.

Lava fountains from the June 3, 2024 fissure eruption in Kīlauea's Southwest Rift Zone were estimated to have reached as high as 20 meters (66 feet), with an average height of 10 meters (33 feet). 

Around 6 a.m. HST on June 3, 2024, a helicopter overflight by USGS HVO scientists was observed by a field crew taking gas measurements of the new fissure eruption in Kīlauea's Southwest Rift Zone.  USGS photo by Tricia Nadeau (HVO)

While observing the new fissure eruption in Kīlauea's Southwest Rift Zone, HVO scientists in the field were treated to views of rainbow terminating in the cloud of volcanic gases. USGS photo by Tricia Nadeau (HVO)

On June 3, 2024, HVO field crews collected cooled spatter from the then inactive vents of Kīlauea's Southwest Rift Zone eruption. Samples are processed in the laboratory to determine their chemistry, which helps HVO scientists understand where the magmas were stored prior to eruption. USGS photo by K. Lynn.

The glow from the eruption of Kīlauea volcano, visible from Volcano House in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park during the early morning hours of June 3. Image courtesy of Volcano House.