Images

View of the fuming opening in the east wall of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater with incandescent holes on its rim.

View looking north across new and active flows, light gray in color, on the coastal plain west of Kalapana Gardens subdivision.

View looking southeast at new flows, light gray in color, just west of Kalapana Gardens subdivision.

A wide shot of the current flow field, from the coastal plain up to the TEB vent. The current flow is still split into an eastern and western lobe on the coastal plain, entering the ocean along the eastern lobe (lower right). The area is scattered with small breakouts, several of which show up nicely in light grey.

Breakouts remain active near Kalapana, with vigorous activity situated approximately 630 meters (0.4 miles) west of the end of the Kalapana access road. This breakout, just south of a partially burned kipuka, was cascading into a small depression on the flow field.

Looking down into the vent cavity of the Halema‘uma‘u Overlook vent. The black ring on the walls surrounding the lava pond is a high lava mark, outlining the height the lava rose during a recent rise/fall cycle.

A new spattering vent formed on the south side of the TEB shield, just before daybreak on February 4.

A fortuitous shot of a lava blob being thrown from the vent.

A close-up of the active vent on the floor of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater.

The lava pond in the vent cavity of the Halema‘uma‘u Overlook vent during the rise phase of a rise/fall cycle. In this photo, the lava pond is 95 m (312 ft) below the floor of Halema‘uma‘u crater. When the pond level is high there is very little fume, allowing for unusually clear views.

Lava began erupting from the septum between the two openings on the east wall of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater the morning of February 17, just after 7:00 am.

The spattering source on the east wall of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō Crater.

Flows from the more northerly vent are crossing a small portion of the crater floor and filling in the southern opening.

After recovering from last week's DI event, the lava surface in the Halema‘uma‘u Overlook vent returned to about 80 m (260 ft) below the floor of Halema‘uma‘u Crater. The north/northwest rim of the vent (right side of photo) is still noticeably overhung, making future collapses very likely.

A near-vertical look at a lava cascade inside the vent cavity of the Halema‘uma‘u Overlook vent.

The floor of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater continues its slow rise as lava pours out of a new vent at the base of the east wall. The height of the floor has risen 20 m (66 ft) over the past two weeks.

A close-up of the spattering source on the floor of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater. A small spatter rampart has formed along the east side of the vent.

Aerial view of the perched lava lake in Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater. Small fluctuations in the lava lake level lead to frequent overflows. These serve to build the levee around the lake even higher, amplifying the perched appearance.

View looking up Mauna Loa's spectacular Southwest Rift Zone. Pu‘u o Keokeo fills the lower half of the photo. The black lava beyond is mostly from 1916 and 1926. The summit of Mauna Loa is in the background.

Sulfur, not snow, paints the ground white in the Sulfur Cone area on Mauna Loa's upper Southwest Rift Zone. The summit of Mauna Loa is over the slope of the mountain out of sight to the left in the background.

View from just below the summit of Mauna Loa looking back down the Southwest Rift. The Sulfur Cone is the white area just above center frame. Pu‘u o Keokeo is the barely visible bump just above Sulfur Cone at the crest of the Southwest Rift.