Images

Photograph of Jonathan Parrish, an administrative professional with the USGS Volcano Science Center.

Denis Staley stands on a rock formation in Alaska. He is a landslide hazard researcher based out of the Alaska Volcano Observatory.

Photograph of Cyrus Read in the field in Alaska.  He designs installs and maintains equipment that monitors volcanoes and earthquakes for the Alaska Volcano Observatory.

A view of the western part of the lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. Lava effusion from the west vent (lower left) had significantly decreased during the time of this photo. The western part of the lava lake surface was crusted over and had developed a noticeable topography, with islands perched within the lava lake.

This zoomed-in view of the western fissure within Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea, was captured on December 10, 2021. In this photo, spatter is seen above a perched pond at the top of the cone. The volcanic plume originating at the cone is mostly white in color with a blue tinge, indicative of water vapor and sulfur dioxide, respectively. USGS image by N.

The eruption in Halema'uma'u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea, continues.

View of the active western half of the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u at the Kīlauea summit. The main island that serves as a boundary between the active (west) and inactive (east) parts of the lake is the brown area in the middle right side of this photo.

Screen capture of the USGS Volcanoes Twitter header with the USGS Volcanoes logo and an image of the September 2021 summit eruption of Kilauea volcano.

Michelle Coombs is a volcanologist with the U.S. Geological Survey Volcano Hazards Program. She works out of the Alaska Science Center in Anchorage, Alaska.

Sunset on the evening of December 8, 2021, provided stunning views of the eruption in Halema'uma'u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. This photograph, taken from the Keanakākoʻi overlook within Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, looks northwest from the south rim of Kīlauea caldera.

Photograph of Charles Mandeville, Program Coordinator, USGS Volcano Hazards Program

This zoomed-in view of the western fissure within Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea, was captured on December 7, 2021, through the lens of a laser rangefinder.

Red hot lava overturns the crust of the western end of the Halema‘uma‘u lava lake at the summit of Kīlauea volcano. These overturns are often seen along the edge of the lake by the 1-meter-high (3 ft) rim surrounding the active surface area. USGS image by J. Schmith.

On the sunny morning of December 3, at around 11 a.m. HST, the western vent in Halema‘uma‘u crater hissed with steam from large parts of the 19-meter-high (62 feet) cone after a rainfall earlier in the morning. Although the lava inside the cone was not visible, HVO field crews observed that lava continued to flow into the lava lake from the east side of the vent.

Earthquakes detected by HVO’s seismic network in December 2021, with the size of the circles corresponding the earthquake magnitude and the color corresponding to the earthquake depth. The cluster of mostly blue earthquakes are from a persistent swarm about 30 km (19 miles) underneath Pāhala.

HVO staff at work in the electronics workshop. On the right side, two types of 3D printers are used to produce parts: sample holders made from bioplastic, and aerial drone parts made from carbon fiber and nylon. On the left side, a computer screen shows the inside structure of composite drone parts. USGS photo by F.

View from the south looking at the western, active part of the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. Effusion into the lava lake is slow and steady with a few red-orange incandescent patches of lava visible within the flat black part of the lava lake. The perched margin of the active lava lake is visible around its perimeter. USGS photo by D.

View from the south looking at the active west vent in Halema‘uma‘u at Kīlauea summit. The vent is mostly obscured by a plume of steam and sulfur dioxide, with a little spatter visible. A lava flow is slowly entering the lava lake from the base of the scoria cone that has been constructed around the west vent. USGS photo by D. Downs.

Lava erupts through a perched lava pond in the active western vent of Halema‘uma‘u crater, and supplies lava to the lava lake. Spatter bursts like the one seen here disrupt the pond surface nearly continuously and occasionally throw lava outside the vent, building up the cone. This burst is approximately 5 meters (16 feet) tall. USGS photo taken by B.

Lava continues to eruption from a vent on the western wall of Halema‘uma‘u crater and flow into the lava lake. The active area of the lava lake remains similar in size to the previous week. In the foreground, a down-dropped block containing a segment of the old Crater Rim Drive can be seen. The southeast flank of Mauna Loa is in the background.

This reference map depicts the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption on November 19, 2021. One eruptive vent is active within Halema‘uma‘u at this time, along the western edge of the rising lava lake.