Images

Two vertical air photos, stitched together, show all of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō's crater. The islands within the eastern lava lake, to the right, give it an appearance somewhat like Edvard Munch's "The Scream".

This photograph, looking west, shows the active lava within Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater in the early morning light.

This thermal image, looking east, shows the two perched lava ponds within Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater. The eastern perched pond was just below the level of the east rim today.

This photograph shows a close-up of the perched lava pond abutting the east rim of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater. The lava was just a meter (yard) or so below the low point on the rim, and was close to spilling over.

This vertical view from today's overflight shows the layout of activity within Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater. The shiny area towards the right portion of the crater floor is the eastern perched lava pond, while the shiny area in the left portion of the crater floor (close to the center of the image) is the western perched pond.

Steam rises from the Mud Geyser fumarole on the northeast side of the Mud Volcano thermal area in Yellowstone National Park. Gas that discharges from Mud Geyser has the most magmatic character of any sampled feature in Yellowstone.

Over the past week, the lava pond in Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō Crater has rebuilt its retaining walls and is once again perched 3-5 m (10-16 ft) above the surrounding crater floor.

Along with overflows, low-level spattering from points wandering around the perimeter of the lava lake continually builds up the levee that impounds the lake.

The lava lake's levee stands up to 8 m (26 ft) above the surrounding crater floor. This steep-sided levee impounds the lava and forms what is called a "perched" lava lake. Pieces of the rim occasionally collapse into the lake, leading to sudden and fast-moving overflows of lava onto the crater floor.

Starting in late June, the crater floor around the lava lake began to uplift. The photo here shows the flank of the east side of the lava lake. Prior to uplift, this steeply dipping surface was nearly flat-lying.

Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater, following the collapse of the crater floor on August 3, has been filled with thick fume. A very tiny flow, visible only with a thermal camera, was active on the crater floor.

The new lava lake in Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō has buried much of the floor of the August 3, 2011, collapse crater beneath a maximum of about 45 m (~148 ft) of lava. Most of the lava upwells at the east end of the lake (lower right) and flows toward the west, much like the lava lake prior to the August 3 flank breakout and crater collapse.

The lava accumulating on the southeast side of the crater has begun to form a low shield that extends out from the crater and has buried the Puka Nui and MLK pits. Compare this photo to one taken last week (July 21) from the same spot.

Around 2:20 p.m., HST, on August 3, lava broke out from a vent (center) low on the west flank of the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō cone. Lava erupting from the flank vent is entirely within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, and pose no hazard to residents.

Lava flowing from vents on the west flank of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō formed two branches. A weak north arm advanced northward into forested kipuka (upper right). A higher-volume south arm quickly advanced down Kīlauea's south flank along the edge of flows erupted in 2002-2004 (upper left).

HVO geologist and helicopter pilot repair a mobile Webcam on Kupaianaha to continue monitoring the east flank of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō.

Looking west into Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō Crater. Recent flows that have spilled out of the perched pond stand out by their silver color. These overflows have built up the crater floor another 5 m (16 ft) since last week. Kane Nui o Hamo, Mauna Ulu, and Pu‘u Huluhulu are in the background.

Over the past few days, lava has filled the floor of the Puka Nui pit (lower left) and the MLK pit (lower right) on the west end of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō.

Looking south toward the MLK pit (straight) and Puka Nui pit (right). Lava is only a few meters (yards) away from overtopping the pits and flowing onto the southwest flank of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō.

At 2:02 p.m., HST, on August 3, the floor of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater, which had risen significantly over the past month, forming a dome beneath the perched lava lake, started to subside. By 3:15 p.m., the crater floor and perched lava lake began to collapse. Within a couple of hours, the lava lake was no longer visible, and the crater floor was covered in rubble.

This thermal image, looking south, shows the individual vents feeding distinct channels.