Images

Unvegetated Big Obsidian Flow about 500 m (1640 ft) below people. Central Pumice Cone separates East Lake (distant) and Paulina Lake.

Photo of active lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea, taken during an helicopter overflight on January 8, 2023. Photo is taken from the east, and Mauna Loa appears in the background. Activity is focused in the eastern portion of Halema‘uma‘u, along with the basin within the western portion of the crater that was the focus of activity in 2021-2022.

Photo of Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea, taken during a 7:00 am HST helicopter overflight on Sunday, January 8, 2023. Multiple overlapping photos like this, taken as the helicopter flies around the crater, are used to create Structure-for-Motion (SfM) 3-D models.

Telephoto view of the most active lava fountain during a helicopter overflight of the current eruption within Halema‘uma‘u, Kīlauea, taken on January 8, 2023. This fountain is within the eastern half of Halema‘uma‘u.

A helicopter overflight on January 8, 2023, allowed for aerial visual and thermal imagery to be collected of Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. The active vents are located in the eastern portion of the crater, though lava has also filled the areas previously active in the western portion of the crater.

Telephoto low angle view of the most active lava fountain of the current eruption within Halema‘uma‘u, Kīlauea, taken during a helicopter overflight on January 8, 2023. This fountain is within the eastern half of Halema‘uma‘u. USGS photo by N. Deligne.

Photo of Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea, taken from the southeast corner of the crater during an early morning helicopter overflight on Sunday, January 8, 2023. The eruption within Halema‘uma‘u that began on January 5, 2023, continues, with activity concentrated primarily in the eastern part of the crater.

A helicopter overflight on January 8, 2023, allowed for aerial visual and thermal imagery to be collected of Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. The active vents are located in the eastern portion of the crater, though lava has also filled the areas previously active in the western portion of the crater.

B1cam, shows lava erupting from multiple minor fountains (shown as a line of bright spots in the upper left of the video) on the central eastern portion of Halema‘uma‘u crater’s floor on January 7, 2023.

University of Wisconsin—Madison Ph.D. candidate and Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) volunteer, Claire Ruggles, measures variations in the strength of gravity (grey box) and precise location (GPS on antenna) at the summit of Kīlauea. USGS photograph taken on January 7, 2023, by HVO geophysicist A. Flinders.

Webcam sentinels stand watch over the new eruption within Halema‘uma‘u Crater, at the summit of Kīlauea, in the early morning hours of January 6, 2023. USGS photo taken from the south rim by J.M. Chang.

Several areas of active upwelling on the surface of Halema‘uma‘u, as seen from the south rim during an early morning observational shift on January 6, 2023. As the lava reaches the lake's surface, it immediately begins to cool and radiates away from the source.

A new eruption at the summit of Kīlauea volcano began at approximately 4:34 p.m. on Thursday, January 5, 2023. This reference map depicts activity on the second day of the eruption, based on measurements taken from the crater rim at approximately 9:00 a.m. this morning.

Kīlauea summit morning monitoring overflight on January 6, 2023 at 6:45 a.m. HST captures this aerial view of the new eruption within Halema‘uma‘u crater. The eruption is confined to Halemaʻumaʻu crater in the summit caldera. Lava flows have inundated much of the crater floor (which is nearly 300 acres or 120 hectares).

This image, taken early on January 6th, shows a lava fountain on the eastern portion of Halema‘uma‘u. Numerous areas of upwelling, like the one pictured here, are actively feeding the lava lake and re-surfacing material that was emplaced from activity in 2022. This fountain measured 16-33 feet in height (5-10 meters). 

During an overnight field shift on January 6, 2023, a USGS geologist takes rangefinder measurements to gather information about lava lake levels and fountain dimensions within the newly erupting Halema‘uma‘u Crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. USGS photo by J.M. Chang.

View of eastern half of lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u, Kīlauea summit, in the early morning of January 6, 2023. In this view looking north, four active lava fountains are visible, three in the center of the photo and one in the middle right (smaller).

During the early morning hours of January 5, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists were closely monitoring an increase in earthquake activity and changes in the patterns of ground deformation at Kīlauea’s summit, indicating movement of magma in the subsurface.

This photograph from 9:45 PM January 5, 2023 shows the entire Halemaʻumaʻu crater floor in Kīlauea’s summit caldera resurfaced with new lava that welled out from below the central island.

On January 5, 2023, HVO’s KW webcam captured dramatic bursts of lava from a new vent that opened in Halemaʻumaʻu crater and a wave of lava that moved out onto the crater floor. USGS webcam image. 

A USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist documents the new eruption within Halema‘uma‘u crater, at Kīlauea summit within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. The eruption began just after 4:30 p.m. on January 5, 2023, and remains confined to Halema‘uma‘u crater. USGS image by D. Downs.