Images

HVO staff and collaborators install temporary instruments to collect magnetotelluric (MT) data on Kīlauea volcano’s south flank. At each location, electrodes, induction-coil magnetometers, and data loggers are deployed for 1–2 days. This photo shows a magnetometer being prepared for burial in a narrow and shallow trench to minimize wind noise.

Lava lake activity continues in Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. A small stream of lava was pouring into a small pond northwest of the main lava lake, near the west vent. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

This map of the Kīlauea summit is mostly identical to the May 16, 2022, eruption reference map, but also included here are west to east topographic profiles across the caldera.

Map of the Southwest Rift Zone of Mauna Loa, using data from the Geologic Map of the State of Hawaiʻi (Sherrod and others, 2021). Lava flows erupted in 1950, 1926, 1919, 1916, 1907, 1887, and 1868 are shown in different colors on the map. Basemap sources: ESRI, HERE, Garmin, Intermap, increment P Corp. USGS map. 

The feature shown in the photograph is a drainage outlet for the active lava lake of Halema‘uma‘u, a crater within the summit caldera of Kīlauea volcano. Surface plates from the active lake surface are dragged into the outlet and churned up. A small standing wave, about 1 meter or 1 yard tall, is present in the center of the outlet structure.

Unoccupied aircraft systems (UAS) flights on May 18, 2022, allowed for aerial visual and thermal imagery to be collected of Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. The active lake surface is limited to the western portion of the crater.

A view of the active lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u, taken during a Kīlauea summit monitoring field shift on the morning of May 18, 2022. The active lake is draining into the small pond on the right of the photograph. Spattering along the margins of the lake is common, seen here in the center of the photograph.

The vent within Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea, was degassing during a field observation visit on the morning of May 18, 2022. The vent is 56 feet tall (17 meters) and has a small puka (hole) visible with bright red glowing lava within on the right side of the photograph.

Unoccupied aircraft systems (UAS) flights on May 18, 2022, allowed for aerial visual and thermal imagery to be collected of Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. The active lake surface is limited to the western portion of the crater.

A view of Isaac Hale Beach Park (also known as Pohoiki) in the lower Puna District on the Island of Hawai‘i. Lava from the 2018 Kīlauea lower East Rift Zone eruption, emplaced in late July 2018, is visible on the left. USGS photo taken during a helicopter overflight on May 12, 2022, by N. Deligne.

 Ahuʻailāʻau (the cone built during the eruption of Fissure 8) was the most active vent during the 2018 lower East Rift Zone eruption of Kīlauea on the Island of Hawai‘i. During a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory routine monitoring overflight on May 12, 2022, the prominent feature was visible in the row of fissures. USGS photo J. Schmith.

Map comparing two months of earthquake activity in the region deep beneath Pāhala from (a) March 1, 2014, to May 1, 2014, and (b) March 1, 2022, to May 1, 2022. Earthquake locations are marked by circles that are colored by depth; blue circles indicate earthquakes that occurred 20–40 km (12–25 miles) below sea level.

Kapoho Crater, with its lush green slopes, was surrounded by lava during the 2018 lower East Rift Zone eruption of Kīlauea. Lava flowed all the way around and into the center of the crater, covering the lower part of the cone. Now, the slopes of the crater form a Kīpuka, or area surrounded by younger lava flows. USGS photo by J. Schmith on May 12, 2022.

An overflight at approximately 10 a.m. on May 10, 2022, provided aerial views of the eruption within Halema‘uma‘u crater. Lava continues to erupt from the west vent area, supplying an active lava pond in the western portion of Halema‘uma‘u within Kīlauea summit caldera. USGS photograph by K. Mulliken. 

A view of the lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea, taken during a helicopter overflight the morning of May 10, 2022. The image is taken from the east side of the crater looking to the west. The west vent cone complex can be seen in the far western side of the lake.

A view of the former Jaggar Museum and Hawaiian Volcano Observatory buildings, located on the northwest rim of Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. The buildings were closed in 2018 due to damage to the buildings during the Kīlauea summit collapse events of that year.

This reference map depicts the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption on May 16, 2022. One eruptive vent (orange) is active within Halema‘uma‘u, on the western side of the crater floor.

A view of the lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea taken from the south, looking north. An orange glow can be seen in the active part of the lava lake. The dark gray area at the bottom of the photo is a lava flow from September 1982. The dark tan exposure to the north of the 1982 flow is the Keanakāko‘i Ash (ca. 1500–1820 CE).

A helicopter overflight on May 10, 2022, allowed for aerial visual and thermal imagery to be collected of Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. The active lake surface is limited to the western portion of the crater.

A helicopter overflight on May 10, 2022, allowed for aerial visual and thermal imagery to be collected of Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. The active lake surface is limited to the western portion of the crater.

A telephoto image of the west vent (lower right) and active lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u, the crater within Kīlauea volcano's summit caldera. Spattering lava is visible around the eastern (top) and southern (upper right) lake margins. The lava lake is approximately 168 m (551 ft) east-west (top to bottom), and 60 m (197 ft) north-south (left to right).