Images

This reference map depicts the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption on August 18, 2022. One eruptive vent (orange) is active within Halema‘uma‘u, on the western side of the crater floor. An adjacent pond (purple) is feeding lava to a larger lake (red) via a crusted-over tube.

Image of the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea. Lava enters the lake at the west end (bottom of image) and flow steadily towards the east end, where the crust is consumed along the lake margins. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

This reference map depicts the volcanic islands of American Samoa, and specifically the Manu‘a Islands of Ofu, Olosega, and Ta‘ū. In recent days and weeks, residents of the islands have been feeling moderate earthquakes, and the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory has deployed several staff members to American Samoa to help monitor the unrest.

A helicopter overflight on August 16, 2022, allowed for aerial visual and thermal imagery to be collected of Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. The active lake surface is limited to the western portion of the crater.

View of south part of western side of Nuʻutele Island, off the west coast of Ofu Island in the Manuʻa Islands, American Samoa. Nuʻutele Island is an eroded tuff cone of Ofu-Olosega volcano. A tuff cone can form when magma and water interact at shallow depths, causing localized explosions.

View of part of the tuff cone which contains both Faleāsao village and Faleasao Harbor from the northwest part of Taʻū Island, American Samoa. A tuff cone can form when magma and water interact at shallow depths, causing localized explosions.

A Raspberry Shake seismometer was installed at Fitiʻuta Elementary School on Taʻū Island on August 13, 2022, to provide initial data on the swarm of earthquakes that started on the Manuʻa Islands around July 26, 2022.

A Raspberry Shake seismometer was installed at Fitiʻuta Elementary School on Taʻū Island on August 13, 2022, to provide initial data on the swarm of earthquakes that started on the Manuʻa Islands around July 26, 2022.

Plots showing Mauna Loa ground deformation and earthquake monitoring data between midnight August 1 and midnight August 3, 2022. The top panel shows ground tilt in microradians at station MOK, on the northwest side of Mauna Loa’s summit caldera. A histogram showing the number of located earthquakes that occurred per hour is shown in the middle panel.

This reference map depicts the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption on August 8, 2022. One eruptive vent (orange) is active within Halema‘uma‘u, on the western side of the crater floor. An adjacent pond (purple) is feeding lava to a larger lake (red) via a crusted-over tube.

Recent Sentinel-1 interferogram for the period from June 7 to July 13, 2022 covering the Island of Hawai‘i. Each color fringe represents 2.83 centimeters (1.11 inches) of ground displacement. There is evidence for a few millimeters of inflation at Mauna Loa, and no noteworthy deformation at Kīlauea during this time span.

Uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) flights on August 4, 2022, allowed for aerial visual and thermal imagery to be collected of Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. The active lake surface is limited to the western portion of the crater.

Uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) flights on August 4, 2022, allowed for aerial visual and thermal imagery to be collected of Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. The active lake surface is limited to the western portion of the crater.

Earthquakes in oceanic environments can generate pressure waves that travel long distances within the ocean itself. Much like seismographs record ground shaking, this energy is recorded by submerged hydrophones measuring pressure changes in water.

Telephoto view of the west vent in Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea, on July 29, 2022. Two small areas of incandescent orange glow can be seen on the south side of the cone. USGS photo by J.M. Chang.

Telephoto view of the active lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea. During an eruption monitoring shift on July 29, 2022, spattering was observed along the eastern margin of the active lake. Additionally, crustal plates (darker pieces within the silvery active lava lake) were observed forming and breaking apart. USGS photo by J.M. Chang.

Photo of Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea, taken on July 29, 2022, from the southwest rim. Abundant fumes can be seen coming from the west vent, on the far left side of the photo. The west vent continues to feed the active lava lake, which is the silver-colored area to the east (right) of the west vent. USGS photo by J.M. Chang.

Another telephoto view of the Airborne Electromagnetic and Magnetic (AEM) survey, taken as the helicopter traversed over Halema‘uma‘u crater floor, at Kīlauea summit. This photo was taken from Uēkahuna overlook within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, and helicopter and loop are visible in the center left of the image.

Telephoto image of helicopter flying the Airborne Electromagnetic and Magnetic (AEM) survey over Kīlauea caldera on July 28, 2022. The walls of Kīlauea caldera are visible in the background of the image. Photograph by Ray Crum.

This morning, July 28, the USGS-Hawaiian Volcano Observatory flew the Airborne Electromagnetic and Magnetic (AEM) survey over Kaluapele—Kīlauea summit caldera—within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. A helicopter flew about 120-175 ft above the ground in a grid-like pattern with a 40-ft horizontal loop suspended 35 ft below it.

A view of the Airborne Electromagnetic and Magnetic (AEM) survey over Kaluapele—Kīlauea summit caldera—taken from Uēkahuna overlook in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. The loop system below the helicopter transmits weak, low-frequency radio waves into the ground and measures the Earth response as well as passively detects variations in the Earth’s magnetic field.