Images

Video of spattering along the north margin of Kīlauea Volcano's summit lava lake.

The two new flows that broke out on the flanks of the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō cone on Kīlauea Volcano's East Rift Zone on May 24 remained active early this morning. The flows were spreading laterally near the vent, but making little forward progress; as a result, they were not posing a threat to any community.

Hawai‘i ‘amakihi with avian pox. Symptoms of this virus, which can be spread by mosquitoes, include tumor-like lesions on unfeathered parts of a bird's body, including feet and legs, around the eyes, and at the base of the bill. USGS photo.

The second flow from the eastern breakout on Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō—in the area of the "Peace Day" flow that broke out in September 2011—remained active as of this morning, and its total length was about 1.2 km (0.75 mi) long. This lava flow was slowly spreading laterally, but the flow front had stalled.

Amidst steam created by rain falling on the hot lava, another HVO geologist uses a rock hammer to collect a sample of the active flow. Analyses of this sample will yield data on the temperature and chemical makeup of the lava, information that is needed to help determine what's happening within the volcano.

As of 8:30 a.m., HST, today, May 25, 2016, lava continued to flow from two breakout sites on the flanks of the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō cone, which was shrouded by rain and steam during HVO's morning overflight.

The two breakouts that began at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō yesterday (May 24) are still active. This morning, the active portions of both flows remained relatively short, extending no more than 1 km (0.6 miles) from their breakout points.

A slightly closer view of the lava flow from the eastern breakout on Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. This flow has not advanced significantly since yesterday, but it is slowly widening.

This small-scale map shows Kīlauea's active East Rift Zone lava flow field in relation to the eastern part of the Island of Hawai‘i. The new breakouts from Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō that began on May 24 are shown in red, as mapped on May 25. The area of the original June 27th lava flow field is shown in pink, as last mapped in detail on May 9.

This map shows recent changes to Kīlauea's active East Rift Zone lava flow field. The new breakouts from Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō that began on May 24 are shown in red, as mapped on May 25. The area of the original June 27th lava flow field is shown in pink, as last mapped in detail on May 9. Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō lava flows erupted prior to June 27, 2014, are shown in gray.

This morning (May 25, 2016), the northern breakout on Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō was feeding an impressive channel of lava that extended about 950 m (0.6 mi) northwest of the cone. This channel was about 10 m (32 ft) wide as of 8:30 a.m., HST.

Despite heavy rain, which resulted in blurry spots on this photo due to water droplets on the camera lens, HVO scientists were able to do some of the work they hoped to accomplish during this morning's overflight. Here, an HVO geologist maps the location of active lava from the eastern breakout on Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō.

This map of two new breakouts at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō, which began just before 7:00 a.m., HST, this morning, shows the extent of the lava flows based on aerial photos that were taken at 8:30 a.m.

A wider view of the larger breakout traveling down the north flank of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō, towards the northwest. This photo was taken at about 8:30am.

A video of the larger breakout, flowing northwest.

Two new breakouts at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō began this morning just before 7:00 a.m., HST. The larger of the two breakouts, shown here, originated on the northeast flank of the cone, at the site of the vent for the ongoing June 27th lava flow. This breakout point fed a vigorous channelized flow that extended about 1 km (0.6 miles).

Another breakout occurred just east of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō, about 500 m (0.3 miles) from the crater, in the area of the "Peace Day" flow that broke out in September 2011. This second breakout was smaller than the one on the northeast flank, but was still feeding an impressive lava channel.

The crater floor at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō has recently experienced minor uplift due to inflation within Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō cone. The crater floor uplift is subtle, and probably no more than about 1 meter (3 feet) since May 15. Small, hot cracks have appeared on the crater floor during the uplift.

A USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory chemist conducts thermal imaging measurements as part of a geochemical survey on Mauna Loa's upper Southwest Rift Zone in March 2016. Areas like the one shown here can indicate where gases are escaping from magma at depth. USGS photo.

The red line shows the total number of earthquakes that have occurred at Mount Hood between the year 2000 and May 16, 2016. During this period, there have been 829 earthquakes greater than magnitude 1. Note the number of earthquakes during the 2002 swarm.

This daguerreotype image, captured in 1855 by Hugo Stangenwald, is the earliest known photograph of Kīlauea Volcano. Although scratched and faded, the 161-year-old photo shows a line of steaming vents across the floor of Kīlauea's summit caldera as viewed from a location near today's Volcano House Hotel. The caldera rim is visible in the lower third of the image.