Images

Stormy weather moved through the islands over the past day, producing snow at the higher elevations of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. This sequence shows the webcam images at the summit of Mauna Loa, and the variable weather throughout the day.

On December 30, 2015, an HVO geologist wore protective gear during collection of a fresh lava sample for chemical analysis from a Pāhoehoe breakout along scattered Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō lava flows. Inset image caption: Metadata is written on a bag that holds a sample taken from Pāhoehoe that was collected on August 18, 2006.

The water pond at Kīlauea's summit continues to gradually deepen. The pond surface remains variable in color, with a brownish hue in the northern portion, evident through the gaps in steam. USGS photo by D. Swanson.

The sampling mechanism (on blue tarp) is prepared and the Unoccupied Aircraft System (UAS) is inspected just before take off to collect water from the Halema‘uma‘u crater lake. Brightly colored flagging tape tied to a cable attached to the UAS indicated depth as the sampling tool was lowered into the water. 

Geophysicist Brian Shiro, manager of the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory's seismic network, was part of HVO's team that installed several new stations on Kīlauea Volcano's lower East Rift Zone to monitor earthquakes during the 2018 eruption.

Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) image of the silicified microbial mats that form Castle Geyser. USGS image by Dakota Churchill.

Retired USGS botanist Linda Pratt, USGS research geologists Patricia Nadeau and Jennifer Lewicki, and USGS chemist Tamar Elias (left to right) are part of a team investigating a critically endangered succulent plant, Portulaca sclerocarpa, in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park's Puhimau thermal area.

_{This Portulaca sclerocarpa (‘Ihi mākole) individual (center) surrounded by invasive grass species is a critically endangered plant. The small metal tag to the right notes the plant's permanent identification number for long-term monitoring purposes.}

As fissure 8 erupts on Kīlauea Volcano's lower East Rift Zone in June 2018 (left), a Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometer measures gas emissions from the lava fountains. At right, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory gas geochemistry team members collect a sample of gas from Sulphur Banks in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

The 1880-1881 eruption of Mauna Loa produced lava flows that came within about 2 kilometers of the town of Hilo. This painting by Charles Furneaux, "Night View 1880-1881, Eruption from Hilo Bay," illustrates the flows as they would have been in November 1880.

After a sample was collected, HVO team members transferred water from the sampling device to plastic bottles. Team members took notes, measured water pH and evaluated water temperature data for each sample collected.   

A close-up view of the Kilauea pond shows the color variations across the surface, and sharp boundaries among zones of different color.

Comparison of the water pond in Halema‘uma‘u on November 20, 2019, and March 1, 2020. Camera and lens same for both photos. Since November 20, 2019, the pond deepened 10 m (33 ft) and widened more than 50 m (164 ft) east-west and 30 m (98 ft) north-south. Circled clusters of rocks did not move between photos, evidence of slope stability.

Thomas A. Jaggar, shown at his desk circa 1925, founded the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory in 1912 and served as its Director until he retired in 1940.

An HVO scientist tests a colorimeter instrument on the water lake within Halema‘uma‘u, at Kīlauea's summit. Colorimetry is the measurement of the wavelength and intensity of light. USGS photo by M. Patrick. 

A pack string crossing the Yellowstone River in the remote Thorofare region. National Park Service photo courtesy of Sherrie and Ron White, August 21, 2016.

Imperial Geyser hot spring pool in Yellowstone National Park is about 30 m (about 100 ft) across and contains alkaline-Cl waters with a steam vent in the pool and mudpots outside the pool area (in the upper right part of this photo). USGS Photo by Pat Shanks, 2019.

Visitors in the busy Old Faithful area. National Park Service photo by Neal Herbert, May 27, 2017.

Map of roads in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Source: Yellowstone Spatial Analysis Center.

Field observations today show that the diameters of the crater lake within Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea are about 94 m (308 ft) north-south and around 192-195 m (630-640 ft) east-west. Too much steam at the west end interfered with measurements this morning.

On January 17, 2020, USGS-HVO scientists and DOI Unoccupied Aerial System (UAS) team members collected three additional samples of water from the Halema‘uma‘u crater lake. Here, the sampling device and temperature logger were readied for takeoff. The plastic sleeve was attached to the UAS (drone) with a cord about 20 feet (6 m) long.