Images

Volcanic air pollution, commonly called volcanic smog or vog, at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano created by the gas plume rising from Halema‘uma‘u Crater during slack tradewinds. High vog levels result in regionally hazy sky conditions that degrade air clarity and reduce visibility for everyone.

Volcanic-gas plume rises from Halema‘uma‘u Crater as seen from the Jaggar Museum (Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park) viewing area next to the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

Volcanic gas plume rises from Halema‘uma‘u Crater, Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i

Volcanic gas plume rises from Halema‘uma‘u Crater, Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i

Volcanic-gas plume rising from summit of Kīlauea Volcano as seen from Highway 11, Hawai‘i

Roof Cleaning in Futaleufu, Chile, following the 2008 eruption of Chaitén volcano. Note that the person should be protected from falling and should not be placing the shovel in contact with the roof, which could cause damage.

Strong tradewinds blow the gas plume from the Overlook vent in Halema‘uma‘u Crater to the southwest. Photograph taken at 4:37 a.m. HST.

Ash and other lava fragments erupted from the new vent in HALE‘Ama‘uMAU Crater were collected almost daily from several wooden "tear catchers" located near the crater rim and from many more plastic buckets nearby. Six years later, ash collections are still made several times a week.

Kīlauea Volcano's summit vent within Halema‘uma‘u Crater was about 115 feet in diameter in April 2008, a month after it opened. 

A small explosion in the early morning hours on April 16, 2008, from the new Halema‘uma‘u vent (below the white gas plume, left) blasted rock fragments less than 4 mm above the crater rim. Wind blew the ash plume southwest across Crater Rim Drive. Geologists' truck leaves tracks in the pale-red ash several millimeters thick on the roadway.

Road sign on Highway 11 warning drivers of high sulfur dioxide gas concentrations in the area from Kīlauea volcano. The temporary sign was put in place by Hawai‘i County Civil Defense, the agency responsible for public safety.

Road sign on Highway 11 advises drivers to roll up windows to protect themselves from high sulfur dioxide gas concentrations Kīlauea volcano on April 9, 2008. The temporary sign was put in place by Hawai‘i County Civil Defense, the agency responsible for public safety.

Gas plume rising from the new Overlook Vent in Halema‘uma‘u Crater, Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i. Trade winds blow the plume to the southwest.

A plume of volcanic gases (chiefly water vapor, carbon dioxide, and sulfur dioxide), tiny lava and rock particles, and droplets drifts southwest in the tradewinds from Halema‘uma‘u Crater.

Ash-rich plume rises out of Halemaʻumaʻu Crater, Kilauea Volcano Hawaiʻi.
 

View of ash-rich plume rising from a new vent in Halema‘uma‘u Crater in Kīlauea Caldera 5 days after the first explosion from the vent occurred on March 19, 2008. The ash is turning the formerly white steam and gas plume a dusty-brown color. Note the ash fallout down-wind of the plume.

The explosion occurred at 2:58 a.m. HST on March 19, 2008. The explosion scattered rock debris over an area of about 30 hectares (75 acres), covering a portion of Crater Rim Drive and damaging Halema‘uma‘u Overlook. The wooden fence of the overlook was bombarded by rocks hurled onto the rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater from the fumarolic area.

This fumarolic area appeared on March 12, 2008. Gas is being emitted through rubble the Halema‘uma‘u Crater wall. The white fume is a mixture of condensed water vapor, sulfur trioxide, and invisible sulfur dioxide. The fume takes a pale bluish color if it contains very tiny sulfur particles (in center of fuming area).

Glass Mountain obsidian flow at Medicine Lake volcano, California. Glass Mountain is a spectacular, nearly treeless, steep-sided rhyolite and dacite obsidian flow that erupted just outside the eastern caldera rim and flowed down the steep eastern flank of Medicine Lake volcano.

Stream of lava from Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō flowing through the forest in the Royal Gardens subdivision, February 28, 2008. The lava stream is about 3 m (10 ft) wide. Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i.

HVO technicians install a solar-powered seismic station near the summit of Kīlauea Volcano to monitor earthquake activity. The seismic data is transmitted via radio signal directly to the observatory, where the data is initially analyzed by automatic computer programs and then examined in greater detail by a seismologist. Mauna Loa Volcano in background.