Images

Shown here are three of the main volcanic cones (center and right) that make up the KAMAKAIA Hills on Kīlauea Volcano's Southwest Rift Zone.

A view of the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u Crater at dusk, taken from the rim of Halema‘uma‘u (closed to the public due to volcanic hazards). The view is towards the northwest, with the broad summit of Mauna Loa near the top of the photograph. The lake was 34 meters (112 feet) below the Overlook crater rim at this time.

This video clip shows the northern portion of the lava lake, where episodic bubbling commonly occurs. The northern margin of the lake is in the upper right portion of the photo. Note how the bubbling occurs in the same general area, regardless of the movement of the crustal plates. The video is shown at 20x speed.

Since early September 2016, Kīlauea's summit lava lake level has fluctuated, as shown in these side-by-side webcam images. On September 10 (left), the summit lava lake rose to within 5 m (16 ft) of the vent rim, only to drop the next day with the onset of summit deflation.

On September 10, 2016, Kīlauea Volcano's summit lava lake rose to within 5 m (16 ft) of the vent rim (shown above). This is the highest level the lake has reached since it overflowed the vent in April-May 2015, when lava flowed onto the floor of Halema‘uma‘u Crater, forming the dark-colored rock visible on either side of the vent.

A USGS scientist collects a water sample from a cold spring at the base of Mount St. Helens, checking for dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). While much of the gas that is present in the magma under Mount St.

This video clip shows a few of the lava breakouts active on Kīlauea's coastal plain on September 20. The activity consisted of scattered pāhoehoe breakouts. The final segment in this video is shown at x20 speed.

This map shows recent changes to Kīlauea's East Rift Zone lava flow field at the coast. The area of the active flow field as of September 12 is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the active flow as mapped on September 20 is shown in red. The dashed blue line shows the pre-1983 coastline. The base is a Digital Globe image from January 2016.

Breakouts from the the 61g lava flow remain active on Kīlauea Volcano's coastal plain, roughly 2 km (1.2 miles) upslope of the ocean entry. This photo shows a typical lobe of pāhoehoe lava filling in a small depression.

During recent summit deflation, the lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u Crater dropped out of view of overlooks in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. But since the switch to inflation early Sunday morning (September 18), Kīlauea Volcano's summit lava lake has been rising again, bringing the lake surface back into view.

This telephoto image provides a closer view of the lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u Crater and spattering on the lake surface.

This map includes a georeferenced thermal image mosaic showing the distribution of active and recently active breakouts on the coastal flow field. The thermal mosaic was acquired during a helicopter overflight on September 12. The episode 61g flow field is outlined in yellow to show the extent of the flow.

This map shows recent changes to Kīlauea's East Rift Zone lava flow field. The area of the active flow field as of September 1 is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the active flow as mapped on September 12 is shown in red. Older Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō lava flows (1983-2016) are shown in gray.

Under trade wind conditions, Kīlauea Volcano's eastern Kamokuna lava delta is more safely viewed from outside the closed area on the east (Kalapana) side of the ocean entry. Today, trade winds were blowing the billowy white ocean entry plume, a mixture of superheated steam, hydrochloric acid, and tiny shards of volcanic glass, away from the viewing area.

A telephoto image of the eastern Kamokuna lava delta (from the same location as the photo above) shows lava dribbling into the sea and a closer view of the ocean entry plume.

The explosive interaction of hot lava entering cool seawater throws spatter (clots of molten lava, visible at center of image) from the leading edge of the lava delta forming at Kīlauea's Kamokuna ocean entry.

Lava continues to flow into the ocean at Kamokuna, with two main entry areas, both forming lava deltas. The eastern lava delta is the larger of the two, and today, a broad span of small lava streams entering the sea was creating a wide ocean entry plume. The smaller western entry was feeding a weaker plume.

Another view of the ocean entries, with the eastern entry in the foreground. For scale, a boat can be seen in the lower left portion of the image.

The lava lake at the summit of Kīlauea remained at a high level today, about 18 m (60 ft) from the floor of Halema‘uma‘u Crater at the time of this photo.

The eastern (right) lava delta is the larger of the two, with a broad span of small lava flows entering the sea creating a wide ocean entry plume. Fewer flows on the smaller western (left) entry created a weaker plume.

A breakout from the base of the pali, which began last week, remained active today, with scattered pāhoehoe lobes near the eastern margin of the 61g lava flow. Fume from the lava tubes on the pali can be seen in the upper left part of the image.