Videos

This animation shows how gases behave in magma and how an airplane-mounted UV spectrometer can measure gases in a volcanic plume.

--fissures...fountains...and flows

by Matthew Patrick, USGS, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory

Video showing a 6 m (20 ft) high lava cascade near the eastern base of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. This is the same lava stream shown in the previous two videos. The lava stream continues on several hundred more meters (yards) before transitioning into rubbly pāhoehoe and ‘a‘ā and stalling well short of yesterday’s flow front, which is now inactive.

Video showing the fast-moving upper section of the lava stream on the relatively steep eastern flank of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. The video pans to the left to show the smaller lava stream eruption from the lower (eastern) end of the fissure.

This Quicktime video shows recent activity at the lava lake deep within the Halema‘uma‘u vent cavity. Spattering can be seen in the northwest corner (upper left) and a steady stream of lava, coming from an unseen source towards the southeast, is in the lower right. For scale, the lava lake is about 150 meters (164 yards) wide here.

This movie shows activity at some of the individual vents, which are each distinct in their behavior.

This movie shows views from today's overflight of the vents on the lower west flank of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. There are several vents, topped by spatter cones, that are feeding narrow, fast-moving flows that feed into a broad area of ponded lava.

This Quicktime movie shows views of the numerous spattering vents during today's overflight. Spattering at each source is creating spatter cones and ramparts, and the lava issuing from the individual vents is creating a series of narrow streams which join to feed a broader flow channel.

Video showing the main lava stream on the lower east flank of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. This stream carries most of the lava—the rest splits off to the south (to the left) and flows behind the mounds at upper left. The previous video shows the section of the stream visible at upper right.

(Aug 19, 2006, 00:00:33 to 01:40:33) To document changes in the lava stream level within the PKK lava tube, a time-lapse camera was placed at the edge of the informally named "Kelly's" skylight. The camera recorded several abrupt and short-lived increases in lava stream level that eventually sealed the skylight shut.

This Quicktime movie shows a timelapse sequence taken from a thermal camera on the south rim of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō, beginning just before noon on August 3. Just after 2pm, the lava lake and surrounding floor abruptly drop. As the lava lake drops, solidified portions of the crater floor slide into the fluid lava.

This Quicktime movie shows a timelapse sequence taken from the webcam on Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō's north rim. The movie starts just after noon on August 3, with the typical westward flow of lava within the perched lava lake. Just after 2pm, breakouts start on the flank of the perched lava lake and the lake begins to drop.

This Quicktime movie shows the recent uplift of the lava lake and crater floor in Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater, captured by a thermal camera on the crater rim. The time-lapse movie spans July 9 to today, July 18, and is looped several times. The uplift was continuous between July 9 and 16, but had stalled by the 17th.

Between June 16 and June 23, 2006, the floor of the pit containing the "Drainhole" vent collapsed, revealing a small lava pond about 12 meters across. Gas pistons continued to occur but were much larger, as is evident when comparing this movie to the others with the same title.

June 3, 2006, 21:00:05 to June 4, 2006, 01:00:04) This movie sequence is a third example of gas pistoning (described below) captured by the same camera used to compile the other "Gas pistons within the Drainhole vent at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō" movies .

(June 3, 2006, 06:00:03 to 13:20:03) This movie sequence shows another example of gas pistoning (described in "Gas pistons withing the Drainhole vent at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō", 06-02-2006) captured by the same camera used to compile the previous movie.

Quicktime movie showing a close-up of spattering at the south edge of the lava lake in the vent at Halema‘uma‘u.

Movie showing the second of five large collapses within Kīlauea's summit vent on the floor of Halema‘uma‘u. The collapse was captured by a Webcam located on the rim of Halema‘uma‘u directly above the erupting vent.

Movie showing spattering from a vent on the east wall of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater.

A movie of the erupting vent on the east wall of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō Crater. The movie begins with a cascade of lava filling the southern opening on the east wall and ends at the spattering source, which is producing the cascading flow.

Quicktime movie showing spattering at the south edge of the lava lake in the vent at Halema‘uma‘u.