Images

A view of the lava shield with the thermal camera.

View of the wall above the lava pond in the northeast portion of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater. The lava pond surface is in the lower portion of the photograph. The dark hole in the upper part of the photograph is the truncated entrance to the lava tube that had been supplying lava to the Kahauale‘a 2 flow.

A closer view of the entrance to the lava tube that had been supplying the Kahauale‘a 2 flow.

Map showing the June 27, 2014, breakout at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō in Kīlauea's East Rift Zone. The area of the new flow as mapped on June 27 is shown in pink, while widening of the flow as June 30 is shown in red.

The June 27 breakout initially produced a channelized lava flow that reached Pu‘u Kahauale‘a (about 1.5 km, or 0.9 miles, from the vent) during the first day, but over the past two days the surface flows have retreated closer to the vent, building a lava shield (visible just above the center of the photograph).

This comparison of the normal photograph with a thermal image shows the extent of the lava shield clearly. The lava shield is visible as the area of high temperatures (hot colors) in the thermal image. Corresponding spots are marked with small arrows for reference.

Another look at the lava shield formed from lava erupting from the June 27 vent. The shield consists of a broad, and relatively flat, top with multiple narrow streams of lava flowing down the sides.

The lava pond in the northeast portion of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater. A lava pond has existed here for months, but it enlarged considerably during lava level drop and collapses that occurred with the start of the June 27 breakout. Today, the lava pond was about 35 meters (yards) across, and seven meters (yards) below the rim.

A view from the ground of the lava pond in the northeast portion of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater. Note the layering exposed in the wall above the pond surface.

Preview image for video: shows activity in the lava pond in the northeast portion of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater. A lava pond has been here for months, but it enlarged considerably during the June 27 breakout as the lava level in the pond dropped.

Until recently, surface flows were active in this portion of the Kahauale‘a 2 flow, triggering small brush fires and creating smoke plumes. With the opening of new vents on June 27, the supply of lava into the Kahauale‘a 2 tube was shut off (see photos of the tube above). There were no active surface flows anywhere on the Kahauale‘a 2 flow today.

As noted above, the new flows have caused withdrawal of magma within Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō and small collapses of the several cones on the crater floor.

The withdrawal of magma from within Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō, to feed the new flows, has caused minor subsidence of the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater floor since this morning. This was associated with small collapses at the spatter cones on the crater floor.

Map showing the Kahauale‘a 2 flow (pink) in relation to the eastern part of the Island of Hawai‘i as of June 17, 2014. The most distant active Kahauale‘a 2 lava flows were 7.1 km (4.4 miles) straight-line distance northeast of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō.

Elevated pressure within Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō cone reached a breaking point this morning with magma intruding through the cone and erupting from fissures on the northeast flank of the cone. These new vents fed a vigorous, but still relatively short, channelized flow that had reached about 1.5 km (0.9 miles) northeast of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō by 11 am.

Preview image for video: shows the swiftly moving lava in the channelized flow.

Preview image for video: shows a large chunk of lava being pushed by the current in the channel.

Another view of the spatter coating the area around the breakout point.

The withdrawal of magma from within Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō, to feed the new flows, has caused minor subsidence of the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater floor since this morning. This was associated with small collapses at the spatter cones on the crater floor. A partial collapse of this cone revealed a small pond of lava just below the surface.

As noted above, the new flows have caused withdrawal of magma within Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō and small collapses of the several cones on the crater floor. Dropping lava levels in the northeast lava pond in Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater caused collapses and enlargement of the pond, which has nearly claimed the time-lapse camera (left side of images) observing the lava pond.

Lava flow breakout from northeast flank of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō on the East Rift Zone of Kīlauea volcano.