Images

The flow from the South spatter cone has buried part of the southern flank of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō cone, leaving little of the original tephra that composes the cone visible. Compare this photo to the one taken just a few months ago, on March 7.

The flow from the South spatter cone has buried part of the southern flank of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō cone, leaving little of the original tephra that composes the cone visible. Compare this photo to the one taken just a few months ago, on March 7.

Bathymetric the islands and seamounts that make up the Mariana volcanic island arc (left) and the area of Ahyi seamount in the northern part of the arc (right). Susan Merle of NOAA's Earth-Ocean Interaction Program created these maps.

The lava flow from the north spatter cone, in Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō, began on Tuesday night and came close to the north rim of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater, where our webcams are situated. Because of this proximity, several of the webcams and other pieces of equipment were moved to higher ground on Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō.

Map showing the Kahauale‘a 2 flow in relation to the eastern part of the Island of Hawai‘i as of April 28, 2014. The most distant active front of the Kahauale‘a 2 flow was just over 8.3 km (5.2 miles) straight-line distance northeast of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. Two other flows were also active on the flanks of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō, each erupting from a different vent.

Lava flows from two different vents in Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater have spilled out of the crater and down the flanks of the cone over the past week. This photo shows the new flow, easy to identify with its light gray color, originating from the south spatter cone in Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater (the spatter cone is visible as a bump on the crater floor).

The north spatter cone in Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater fed a new flow, starting Tuesday evening, that covered much of the northern part of the crater floor and spilled over the crater rim towards the north. The right side of the north spatter cone has been present for many months, but the left side, which was spattering this morning, is new as of this week.

The lava flow from the north spatter cone ran over old cinder deposits from the early fountaining phases of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō in the 1980s. Cinders sticking to the front of the pāhoehoe lava were lifted up as the front of the pāhoehoe toes inflated.

The northeast spatter cone in Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater remained active, but the lava pond (featured in many recent photographs posted here) has crusted over, leaving only a small circular opening venting gas.

A closer look at the small opening at the top of the northeast spatter cone in Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater. Although the lava pond is crusted over, fluid lava is likely present just a short distance below the opening. Delicate lava stalactites have formed just inside the rim.

Despite the recent changes in Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater over the past week, the Kahauale‘a 2 lava flow remains active northeast of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō, and continues to advance slowly through remote forest. The active flow front today was 8.3 km (5.2 miles) northeast of the vent on Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō is visible near the top of the photograph.

Columnar jointing in the basalt cliffs at Latourell Falls, Oregon. The basalt columns formed when thick lava flows cooled after emplacement.

Flood basalt lava flow in stacked layers viewed eastward across the Columbia River from Rowena Crest Viewpoint, Oregon. Basalt in the lava flows has formed columnar jointing.

The Kahauale‘a 2 lava flow, as of April 18, 2014, is shown in pink, with a yellow line indicating the active lava tube. The most distant active front of the flow retreated over the past week, probably in response to a DI event. The area covered by older lava flows erupted from Kīlauea in 1983-2013 is shown in gray.

The Kahauale‘a 2 lava flow remains active northeast of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō, and is still moving slowly through thick forest. The active flows retreated a short amount over the past week due to a deflation-inflation cycle at the summit, with the farthest active flows today at about 7.5 km (4.7 miles) northeast of the vent on Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō.

Another view of the Kahauale‘a 2 flow front, with a normal photograph at the left and a corresponding thermal image on the right. The thermal image shows the distribution of active pāhoehoe lobes clearly, with active flows shown by the white colors.

A closer view of the lava lake in the Overlook crater, within Halema‘uma‘u Crater at Kīlauea's summit. The lake is now about 160 m by 200 m (520 x 700 feet) in size. The lava rises to the surface in the northern part of the lake (right side in this photograph) and flows towards the south (left).

In Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater, a small lava pond (about 5 meters, or yards, wide) continued to be active and was still "gas pistoning" today. Gas pistoning is a cyclic rise and fall of the lava pond surface due to gas buildup and release. During the fall phase, intense spattering disrupts the lava pond surface and releases the accumulated gas.

Map showing the Kahauale‘a 2 flow in relation to the eastern part of the Island of Hawai‘i as of April 18, 2014. The most distant active front of the Kahauale‘a 2 flow had retreated slightly, probably in response to a DI event which occurred at Kīlauea's summit over past week, and was 7.5 km (4.7 miles) northeast of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō.

This portable "power" platform is designed to be slung by helicopter to temporary monitoring sites on Hawaiian volcanoes. The platform is being used at Webcam sites and at Kīlauea's summit to measure activity of the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u Crater—a continuously recording gravity meter and an experimental camera for measuring sulfur dioxide gas (shown here).

Lava flow from SP Crater viewed toward the north from the rim of SP, San Francisco Volcanic Field, Arizona.