Images

Active breakouts of lava from the June 27th tube system were observed about 1.8 km (1.1 mi) downslope of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō (upper middle skyline) on November 17. The active lava, visible as shiny, light-gray flows, broke out of the tube near Pu‘u Kahauale‘a, the dark-colored, forested cone in front of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. USGS photo.

Smoke from burning vegetation marks the edges of small breakouts from the June 27th lava-tube system north of the abandoned geothermal well site (middle left). This was the lowermost breakout as of this morning, located approximately 12 km (7.5 mi) straight line distance from Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. Smoke and steam from breakouts upslope are also visible in the distance.

Geologists survey the cross-sectional area of the lava tube using Very Low Frequency (VLF) measurements.

Burning vegetation at breakouts along margins of flow about mid-way down the flow field above the crack system. Photo is looking upslope toward Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō.

A comparison of a normal photograph with a thermal image of the new breakout near Pu‘u Kahauale‘a. The breakout consists of two separate lobes, with the longer, and more active, one traveling northeast along the base of the 2007 perched lava channel.

In addition to the large breakout near Kahauale‘a shown above, there was a series of smaller breakouts that appeared over the past day just upslope of the ground crack system, and about 8 km (5 miles) downslope of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō.

This small-scale map shows the June 27th lava flow in Kīlauea's East Rift Zone in relation to lower Puna. The area of the flow on November 14, 2014, at 1:40 PM is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the flow as mapped on November 17 at 2:00 PM is shown in red.

Active breakouts from tube system near Pu‘u Kahauale‘a approximately 1.8 km (1.1 mi) downslope of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. Photo is looking uprift, or toward the southwest. Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō is on the skyline in the middle of the photo.

A geologist takes a sample of molten lava and quenches it in a bucket of cold water to "freeze" the crystalline structure. Lava samples are collected once a week to track the chemistry of the erupted lava over time.

View looking downhill toward the stalled tip of the flow and Pāhoa Village Road. The transfer station is visible in the left of photo with stalled lava just within the boundary. No active lava breakouts were observed in this lowest part of the flow and below the crack system.

Thermal images from Friday (November 14) to Monday (November 17) show the decline in activity levels around the flow front over the weekend. While sluggish breakouts were observed near the cemetery in Pāhoa over the weekend, these breakouts are now inactive.

A comparison of a photograph and a thermal image of an HVO geologist sampling lava from the leading tip of the new breakout that originated near Kahauale‘a. The recently active, but cooling portions of the flow (red and purple areas in upper left portion of image) have average surface temperatures around 300 C (572 F).

Slowly moving breakouts were active a short distance north of the cemetery, and were 630 meters (0.4 miles) upslope of Pāhoa Village Rd.

Earlier in the week lava reached the outer fence of the transfer station, sending several small cascades through the fence and down the embankment. Burning of the asphalt continued for several days. Now that burning has ceased at the transfer station, a closer look at these features was possible.

Inflation along the lava tube has created a long ridge with a deep, semi-continuous crack along the ridge centerline (right side of image). The peak of the ridge, by rough estimate, is about 4 meters (13 feet) above the original ground surface. This photo looked northeast along the trend of the tube, just south of the cemetery.

A close look into a tree mold on a recently active portion of the June 27th lava flow.

The HVO field crew today reports that scattered breakouts remain active on the June 27th flow. This photo shows the most distant active breakout from Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō, and the closest breakout to Pāhoa Village Road. This breakout was a short distance north of the cemetery and roughly 650 meters (0.4 miles) upslope of Pāhoa Village Road.

This photo shows a close up of the flow around Cemetery Rd./AP‘A‘ā St. In the lower right, the partially buried cemetery can be seen. Just above the center of the photo, lava reached the southeast portion of the transfer station. The house destroyed earlier this week is across the street from the transfer station.

Another view of the AP‘A‘ā St./Cemetery Rd. area, looking towards the east. Lava reached the southeast portion of the transfer station, but stalled. Two small breakouts were active near the transfer station today, but had not expanded the flow margin significantly. At the top of the photograph, buildings situated along Pāhoa Village Road can be seen.

These thermal images compare activity around the flow front on November 5 and 14, 2014. White and yellow colors show areas of active breakouts. On November 5 relatively few breakouts were active in this portion of the June 27th flow, with a few small breakouts near the cemetery and one breakout a few hundred meters upslope of the transfer station.

This small-scale map shows the June 27th lava flow in Kīlauea's East Rift Zone in relation to lower Puna. The area of the flow on November 12 and 13 is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the flow as mapped on November 14 at 1:40 PM is shown in red.