Images

A close-up of the active lava surface in Halema‘uma‘u.

New fissure eruption SW of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō between Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō and Nāpau crater. Spatter is reaching 15-20 m into the air, above the trees.

Map showing the extent of the "July 2007 eruption", or Episode 58, flow field relative to surrounding communities. Reddish-brown is the active flow as mapped on January 13, 2011, while bright red shows the advancement of the flow from January 13-February 4. Light red represents older flows erupted during Episode 58 of the ongoing East Rift Zone eruption.

Close-up of just-opened fissure segment at NE tip of propagating fissure. Spatter reaching 5 m into the air.

Increased activity on one of the new fissures between Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō Crater and Nāpau.

Ash cloud rising from Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō as crater floor collapses due to magma withdrawal. Incandescent rubble can be seen crumbling and rolling down the scarp. The east rim of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō is in the foreground.

View to the SW at the new fissure eruption between Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō and Nāpau. Cracks in the foreground could be seen opening as photo was being taken.

New fissure eruption SW of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō between Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō and Nāpau crater. Spatter is reaching 15-20 m into the air, above the trees. Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō in the background.

These tephra deposits are from the Kulanaokuaiki Tephra erupted from Kīlauea Volcano about 200 to 1000 C.E. The base of a lava flow overlying the tephra is just above the person's hand. This site is located near the base of Kīlauea's summit crater wall, directly below the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and NPS Jaggar Museum.

Fissure eruption of low lava fountains from Kīlauea Volcano’s East Rift Zone in 2007, Island of Hawaiʻi.

Aerial photo showing lava fountains and flows from one of the fissure segments on March 8. A channelized ‘A‘ā flow is hidden by fume to right. Distant fume shows locations of other earlier Kamoamoa fissures active March 5-7. Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō about 3.6 km (2.2) in distance from the fountains.

Image from a thermal camera located on the rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater above the Overlook vent and looking into the vent after the lava lake nearly drained away completely starting March 5. Volcanic tremor and summit deflation began at about 1:42 p.m. HST on March 5, and was shortly followed by draining of the lava lake.

Aerial photo of the Kamoamoa eruption on March 7, 2011. The western fissure feeding a channelized ‘a‘ā flow is visible in the lower right, while the eastern end of the fissure system and Pu‘u‘ō‘ō crater are in the upper left. USGS photo by T. Orr.

Scientists collect volcanic gas data using a Fourier Transform Infrared spectrometer (FTIR). During the Kamoamoa eruption, sulfur dioxide emission rates from Kīlauea’s East Rift Zone reached the highest levels since the episodes of high-fountaining at Pu‘u‘ō‘ō (1983–1986) with an average rate of 8,500 tonnes per day and a peak value of 11,000 tonnes per day.

A geologist collects a molten lava sample from the Kamoamoa eruption. USGS photo taken by M. Patrick on March 6, 2011.

Lava spatters above the fissure just west of the base of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō on March 6, 2011.

HVO geologist carries a freshly quenched lava sample from the 2011 Kamoamoa fissure eruption on Kīlauea Volcano. Molten lava is quickly placed in a bucket of water to "freeze" the growth of minerals for chemical and microscopic analyses.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists map and measure ground cracks during the Kamoamoa eruption. USGS photo taken by N. Richter on March 6, 2011.

HVO gas geochemist uses a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer to measure volcanic gas compositions emitted during the 2011 Kamoamoa fissure eruption on the East Rift Zone of Kīlauea Volcano. The instrument measures the infrared energy from the hot lava fissure as it passes through, and is absorbed by, the volcanic plume along an open atmospheric path.

InSAR image Kīlauea, Hawai‘i, Mar. 2011. Kamoamoa fissure trace is indicated by the red line.

As lava entered the sea in July 2008, littoral explosions sent incandescent lava fragments skyward, building a small littoral cone on the flank of Kīlauea. USGS photo by B. Gaddis.