Images

HVO geologists observed the new eruption within Kīlauea summit caldera during an eruption-monitoring overflight the morning of September 11, 2023. Multiple minor fountains remain active in the eastern portion of Halema‘uma‘u crater floor and on the downdropped block within Kīlauea's summit caldera.

A helicopter overflight on September 11, 2023, allowed for aerial visual and thermal imagery to be collected at the summit of Kīlauea. The eruptive activity continues with fountains active on the downdropped block, just east of Halema‘uma‘u crater, with lava pouring west onto the crater floor.

A helicopter overflight on September 11, 2023, allowed for aerial visual and thermal imagery to be collected at the summit of Kīlauea. The eruptive activity continues with fountains active on the downdropped block, just east of Halema‘uma‘u crater, with lava pouring west onto the crater floor.

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists monitor the ongoing activity within Kīlauea summit caldera. They measure lava fountain and lake surface heights and document the location of still active vents. USGS photo by A. Nalesnik.

University of Hawai‘i at Hilo geology major Paige Johnson compresses a lava sample, collected by Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists during the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption, into a solid pellet that can be analyzed. UH-Hilo photo by S. Lundblad.

A dried sample of the recent Kīlauea summit eruption is ready for processing at the University of Hawai‘i. UH-Hilo photo by S. Lundblad. 

A photo showing what completed pellet look like, with a sharpie pen for scale. The rough and uneven lava sample has been transformed into a pellet that is dense, fine-grained, and has a flat surface that can be analyzed. USGS photo by S. Lundblad. 

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists collected tephra samples erupted from Kīlauea summit on September 10th, 2023. The samples were collected from the rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater and range in size up to 1 inch (2.54 cm). This tephra was visibly less rounded than the existing tephra along the rim from the June 2023 eruption.

From the Uēkahuna overlook, the new eruption at the summit of Kīlauea is visible. The farthest east fissure is near the to margin of downdropped block that formed during the 2018 summit collapse. The base of the main fissure, which is farthest west (right on the image), is approximately 70 meters wide.

The new eruption at the summit of Kīlauea volcano on September 10, 2023. After about an hour of increased seismic activity and uplift, HVO scientists observed the start of the eruption at approximately 3:15 p.m. HST.

The new eruption at the summit of Kīlauea volcano on September 10, 2023. After about an hour of increased seismic activity and uplift, HVO scientists observed the start of the eruption at approximately 3:15 p.m. HST.

The new eruption at the summit of Kīlauea volcano on September 10, 2023. After about an hour of increased seismic activity and uplift, HVO scientists observed the start of the eruption at approximately 3:15 p.m. HST.

The new eruption at the summit of Kīlauea volcano on September 10, 2023. After about an hour of increased seismic activity and uplift, HVO scientists observed the start of the eruption at approximately 3:15 p.m. HST.

Vigorous fountaining within Kīlauea caldera was visible from near the Uēkahuna overlook on the evening of September 10, 2023. This image shows fissure vents that opened parallel to the boundary of Halemaʻumaʻu crater near where it intersected the downdropped block. USGS image by M. Patrick.

This telephoto image, taken from near the Uēkahuna overlook within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, shows the vent in the east wall of the downdropped block erupting on September 10, 2023. As of September 11, 2023, morning, the vent was no longer active and only incandescent. USGS image by M. Patrick.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory gas scientists observed and measured the plume of volcanic gas being erupted from Kīlauea's summit on during the afternoon of September 11, 2023.

Kīlauea started erupting on September 10, 2023, at approximately 3:15 p.m. H.S.T., from fissures which extended from the eastern margin of Halema‘uma‘u crater and onto the down-dropped block to the east within Kīlauea’s summit caldera.

An eruption at the summit of Kīlauea volcano began on September 10, 2023. The main fountain, which HVO geologists estimate is approximately 50 meters tall, is on the eastern margin of Halemaʻumaʻu crater. As of approximately 4:30 p.m.

The new eruption at the summit of Kīlauea volcano on September 10, 2023. After about an hour of increased seismic activity and uplift, HVO scientists observed the start of the eruption at approximately 3:15 p.m. HST.

The new eruption at the summit of Kīlauea volcano on September 10, 2023. After about an hour of increased seismic activity and uplift, HVO scientists observed the start of the eruption at approximately 3:15 p.m. HST.

The new eruption at the summit of Kīlauea volcano on September 10, 2023. After about an hour of increased seismic activity and uplift, HVO scientists observed the start of the eruption at approximately 3:15 p.m. HST.