Images

Thermal image of the front of the Kahauale‘a 2 flow. Yellow and white areas depict active breakouts, while red areas are cooler, inactive portions of the flow. Over the past week a new lobe has pushed east, between lobes that were active in November and January. The tip of this new lobe was 7.4 km (4.6 miles) northeast of the vent on Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō.

A wide view of activity from the east rift zone to the summit. In the foreground, Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater emits fume from numerous sources on the crater floor. One of these cones hosts a small lava pond, and can be seen at the far right edge of the photo, marked by a small bit of incandescence.

A wide view of activity from the east rift zone to the summit. In the foreground, Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater emits fume from numerous sources on the crater floor. One of these cones hosts a small lava pond, and can be seen at the far right edge of the photo, marked by a small bit of incandescence.

pāhoehoe breakouts were scattered at the far end of the Kahauale‘a 2 flow today, as far as 6.9 km (4.3 miles) from the vent on Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. This photo shows some typical activity on the Kahauale‘a 2 flow, with snow-covered Mauna Kea in the distance.

A closer view of the lava pond at the northeast spatter cone in Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater. The pond is about 10 m (about 30 ft) wide, and was undergoing cycles of gas pistoning. The lava level would slowly and quietly rise a meter (yard) or more over about five minutes, and vigorous spattering would commence.

pāhoehoe breakouts were scattered at the far end of the Kahauale‘a 2 flow today, as far as 6.9 km (4.3 miles) from the vent on Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. This photo shows some typical activity on the Kahauale‘a 2 flow, with snow-covered Mauna Kea in the distance.

A close-up view of the lava pond in Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater. The lava surface was quietly rising when this photo was taken. When the lava reached a critical level, vigorous spattering would begin at the large area of incandescence seen here. The rim of the lava pond is covered in a thick coating of spatter from similar events.

An HVO scientist (center) observes 20-m- (65-ft-) high lava fountains erupted from Mauna Loa on March 25, 1984. The 30th anniversary of this eruption will be the topic of an "After Dark in the Park" program presented by HVO geologist Frank Trusdell on March 25, 2014.

This image was acquired by the Earth Observing 1 satellite's Advanced Land Imager sensor on February 2, and shows Kīlauea's summit and east rift zone. Although this is a false-color image, the color map has been chosen to mimic what the human eye would expect to see.

A view of the summit lava lake at dusk. The lava lake is contained within a crater informally called the "Overlook" crater (due to its position immediately below the former Halema‘uma‘u visitor overlook), and this crater is set within the larger Halema‘uma‘u Crater. The photo was taken from the rim of Halema‘uma‘u Crater.

Shaded relief map of Kīlauea's East Rift Zone in the vicinity of the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō eruption site. Colors show changes in elevation that occurred due to emplacement of a lava flow at the base of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō during August 3-15, 2011. Parts of this flow were over 20 m (60 ft) thick.

Preview image for video: This Quicktime video shows a time-lapse sequence spanning from dawn to dusk on Tuesday, January 28, using images collected by our webcam near the summit of Mauna Loa Volcano (13,680 ft above sea level).

Preview image for video: This Quicktime video shows a time-lapse sequence spanning from dawn to dusk on Tuesday, January 28, using images collected by our webcam near the summit of Mauna Loa Volcano (13,680 ft above sea level).

This thermal image shows the lava pond on the east rim of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō from above. The temperature scale is in degrees Celsius. The pond is nearly circular, and has surface crust temperatures between 300 and 400 C (570-750 Fahrenheit - orange colors).

The lava pond at the northeast cone had several spatter sources active on the pond margin, throwing spatter to a height of a few meters (yards).

Closer view of the northeast spatter cone on the east rim of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. Deflation last week resulted in the top of this small cone to collapse, and with resumed inflation a lava pond has filled the new pit. The northeast spatter cone is also the vent area for the Kahauale‘a 2 lava flow, and the path of the lava tube is marked by the two incandescent skylights.

A clear view of the lava pond at the northeast cone, on the east rim of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. View is towards the northeast. Several small spatter sources are active on the pond margin.

Several other spatter cones were active in Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater today, producing loud jetting and hissing sounds as gas is forced through narrow incandescent openings.

Preview image for video: shows a lava pond, about 15 m (50 ft) in diameter, on the east rim of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. Several small spatter sources are active on the pond margin, and release gas from within the pond. Lava pond activity like this is common in Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō.

Preview image for video: shows a lava pond, about 15 m (50 ft) in diameter, on the east rim of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. Several small spatter sources are active on the pond margin, and release gas from within the pond. Lava pond activity like this is common in Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō.

View of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater, looking northeast. In the upper left, a line of fume sources marks the path of the lava tube feeding the Kahauale‘a 2 flow.