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Photo and Video Chronology – Hawaiian Volcano Observatory – March 14, 2023

By Hawaiian Volcano Observatory March 14, 2023

HVO scientists collect detailed data to assess hazards and understand how the eruption is evolving at Kīlauea's summit, all of which are shared with the National Park Service and emergency managers. Access to this hazardous area is by permission from, and in coordination with, Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. 

March 10, 2023 — Halema‘uma‘u crater fieldwork and overflight of Kīlauea summit

 

Color photograph of volcanic deposits
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Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists visiting Halema‘uma‘u crater floor on March 10, 2023. While there, they visited the island of tephra material that formed in December 2020. The island is a composite of red-yellow oxidized pieces that range from sand size to up to a few feet (about a meter) in diameter. USGS photo by D. Downs. 
Color photograph of crater floor
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Aerial image taken at approximately 9 a.m. HST on March 10 during an overflight of Halema‘uma‘u crater at Kīlauea summit. The wind blew steam east, which allowed Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists to take a closer look at the features of the western end of the crater floor. This low-angle view was taken from the western end of the crater and looks east. The western vent is rising above the crater floor and the basin where the western active lava lake used to be is visible in the center. USGS photo by J. Schmith.
Color photograph of crater floor
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View of Halema‘uma‘u crater floor looking south and showing the island that formed during the December 2020 eruption (foreground) and crater floor (background). The December 2020 island has a thin surface of glassy spatter and tephra from the more recent Halema‘uma‘u eruptions that started in September 2021 and January 2023. Halema‘uma‘u activity is currently in a pause with no active lava present at the surface. USGS photo by D. Downs. 
Color photograph of volcanic vent deposits
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An aerial view of the western vent area shows the red oxidized interior walls of the ramparts with the several steaming areas. The outside southeastern side of the rampart and nearby crater floor is covered by a black apron of dust, possibly created by little tephra bits flying out of the now steaming vent (hole) in the rampart wall. USGS photo by J. Schmith.
Color photograph of volcanic deposits
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This photograph shows darker-colored spatter from September 2021 and January 2023 eruptions in Halema‘uma‘u covering the lighter-colored tephra from the December 2020 eruption that makes up the bulk of the island in the middle of Halema‘uma‘u crater floor. USGS photo by D. Downs. 
Color photograph of volcanic deposits
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Aerial photo looking east shows the Halema‘uma‘u western vent complex rising in the foreground. Notice how lava from the eastern end of the lake has flown around the western side and along the western went rampart. Further east is the basin that contained the active western pond and the small southern pool basin. The island that was created within the first hours of the December 2020 eruption can be seen barely sticking out behind the pond basin. It can be picked out by the brown color and lower reflection surface. In the background, the vent area for the more recently active eastern pond can be seen. USGS photo by J. Schmith
Color photograph of volcanic deposits
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Close-up view of the pebbly, rubbly, and sandy texture of the tephra that formed in December 2020 when lava interacted with the water lake that was present at the base of Halema‘uma‘u crater at the time. Some of this tephra formed the island that then floated around the lava lake, and which is still present today. USGS photo by D. Downs. 
Color photograph of volcanic deposits
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Aerial image of Halema‘uma‘u crater floor looking north and showing the architecture of the eastern part of the crater floor dominated by the eastern pond basin. The island from the December 2020 eruption can be seen rising in the western (left) side of the photo with the eastern vent area slightly to the east of the island. A channel is leading from the vent area to the formerly active eastern lava lake that formed in January 2023. USGS photo by J. Schmith.
Color photograph of volcanic deposits
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An aerial view looking down into the frozen pool basin south of the western lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. Spatter deposits can be seen all around the pool basin. The circular feature within the pool is the remains of a small, perched pond in the northern part of the pool basin. USGS photo by J. Schmith.
Color photograph of volcanic deposits
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An aerial photo looking north shows the December 2020 island and eastern vent area within Halema‘uma‘u crater. For the first time, conditions allowed Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists to visit the island. The crew can be seen in orange, working on the northwestern edge of the island. USGS photo by J. Schmith.
Color photograph of volcanic deposits
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A low-angle aerial view showing the steep walls of the western basin within Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. In the background, a Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist is working on the island that formed in the December 2020 eruption. USGS photo by J. Schmith.
Color photograph of volcanic deposits
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Aerial view looking northwest across the eastern part of the western pond basin within Halema‘uma‘u crater; the northern part of the southern pool basin is also visible. In the background, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists are working on the main island that formed in December 2020. USGS photo by J. Schmith.
Color photograph of volcanic vent deposits
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On March 10, 2023, geologists from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory visited the main island that was created during the first hours of the December 2020 eruption. The geologists are studying the deposits on the surface of the island as well as the constituents of the island itself to learn more about the first part of the 2020 unique eruption, when lava encountered the water lake that was previously in Halema‘uma‘u crater. USGS photo by J. Schmith
Color photograph of crater floor
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Eruptive activity was paused during the Friday, March 10, overflight of Halema‘uma‘u, at Kīlauea summit. Numerous outgassing sites were present on the crater floor, but not active lava was present on the surface. USGS photo by M. Patrick.
Map showing crater floor temperature
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A helicopter overflight on March 10, 2023, allowed for aerial visual and thermal imagery to be collected of Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. No active lava was present in the crater, with only scattered warm spots on the crater floor. The scale of the thermal map ranges from blue to red, with blue colors indicative of cooler temperatures and red colors indicative of warmer temperatures. 
Color map of crater floor temperature
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A helicopter overflight on March 10, 2023, allowed for aerial visual and thermal imagery to be collected of Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. No active lava was present in the crater, with only scattered warm spots on the crater floor. The scale of the thermal map ranges from blue to red, with blue colors indicative of cooler temperatures and red colors indicative of warmer temperatures. 
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Eruptive activity was paused during the Friday, March 10, overflight of Halema‘uma‘u, at Kīlauea summit. Numerous outgassing sites were present on the crater floor, but not active lava was present on the surface. This video shows a wide view of the crater followed by a closer view of the western crater floor. 

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