Images

Wide angle view of the southern wall of Kīlauea caldera, where there was previously a sulfer rich and highly altered area. The collapse events of 2018 created this exposeure that is approximately 100 m (300 ft) tall, whereas before 2018, the altered area was only exposed for a couple of vertical meters (yards).

Left: Aerial view of the new extension of the Tern Lake thermal area looking southwest. Note the steam in the central part of the image. Right: FLIR (Forward Looking InfraRed) image of the thermal area, with the field of view indicated by the red box in the visible aerial view. Warmest areas are bright white/yellow, while cooler areas are purple.

Today's noticed overflight a recently exposed feature of a hole with a smoother slope descending below it in the eastern wall of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. It is unclear if this is simply a rockfall/collapse feature with a debris slope or part of the conduit that fed episode 61 activity.

Telephoto zoom on the feature in the east wall of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō.

Clear weather afforded good views of the water pond in Halema‘uma‘u. No major changes were observed in the pond, but it continues to slowly rise. The water surface was steaming, and had a temperature of approximately 70 degrees C (158 degrees F). For scale, the pond is about 70 meters (230 feet) long.

View of the new thermal area from the ground. Research conducted under NPS Geology Programs Milestones Permit 2016-9.

Aerial view of the new thermal area, in the center left. The existing Tern Lake thermal area is the bright white patch of ground in the upper middle part of the image. West Tern Lake is in the lower right. Research conducted under NPS Geology Programs Milestones Permit 2016-9.

Data depicted on this map of Kīlauea lower East Rift Zone lava flow thicknesses are derived from a 2019 USGS topographic survey that utilized a helicopter-mounted light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensor.

Water pond in Halemaumau 8-18-19

The pond within Halema‘uma‘u has notably widened and deepened since August 15, as shown in these two photos taken on August 17 (right) and August 15 (left). Note the changes in the neck between the two ends of the pond. USGS photos by D. Swanson.

Steamboat Geyser erupts in the golden light of sunrise on July 18th, 2019. The water-dominated part of a Steamboat eruption usually lasts anywhere from 3 to 90 minutes. Afterwards, a steam-dominated phase continues for many hours.

Telephoto view of sulfur deposits at one of the several fumaroles on the north wall of Halema‘uma‘u. USGS photo by D. Swanson, 08-14-2019.

The water level continues to slowly rise in Halema‘uma‘u, drowning many of the small rocks that were exposed in the center of the pond. Ripples across the water surface were also evident today.

Group of sulfur-depositing fumaroles overlook the pond of water in Halema‘uma‘u. USGS photo by D. Swanson, 08-14-2019.

Schematic model showing a cross section of Old Faithful's plumbing system as determined from seismic studies. The red circles (t0-t3) show the location of the tremor source over time, and how the tremor source migrates upward prior to an Old Faithful eruption. Times between red circles are based on a 93-minute eruption interval.

These four images show the change in the area and level of water at the bottom of Halema‘uma‘u spanning August 9 to 13. Rocks in the center of the pond and near the shoreline help show the change in the waterline.

Different portions of the ponds have different colors, presumably reflecting different amounts or varying chemistry of dissolved particles in the water.

On behalf of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, Carolyn Donlin, Chief of the USGS Menlo Park Publishing Service Center, accepted an award from the National Association of Government Communicators recognizing HVO's weekly "Volcano Watch" articles as excellent communication products.

A USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientist, while assisting Alaska Volcano Observatory colleagues this summer, mounted a radio antenna on an upgraded seismic station at Great Sitkin Volcano in the western Aleutian Islands. 

On August 7, HVO geologists measured temperatures and documented the rock layers exposed as sections of Highway 132 buried by lava during the 2018 lower East Rift Zone eruption are "ripped" (shown here) to reopen the road. USGS photo by C. Parcheta, 08-07-2019.

The photo above has been cropped here to better show agitation on the pond surface. The agitation could be due to escaping gases from below rising through the water, or from the water boiling, or, perhaps, a combination of both.