Kīlauea

USGS HVO Information Statement—Magnitude-5.1 earthquake on Kīlauea volcano’s south flank

kmulliken@usgs.gov — Mon, 4 Dec 2023 23:10:57 EST

On Monday, December 4, at 5:54 p.m. HST, a magnitude-5.1 earthquake occurred at Kīlauea volcano, at a depth of 1 mi (2 km) below sea level. 

Volcano Watch — Explosive eruptions from Kīlauea: beneficial or dangerous depending on location

kmulliken@usgs.gov — Fri, 1 Dec 2023 13:00:24 EST

Twenty-five years ago, the frequently explosive activity of Kīlauea was unappreciated. Since then, continuing research has emphasized Kīlauea’s past, and potential future, explosive eruptions.

Photo and Video Chronology – Kīlauea GPS campaign and Mauna Loa summit webcams

kmulliken@usgs.gov — Thu, 9 Nov 2023 11:51:45 EST

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) geophysicists completed the annual GPS survey of Kīlauea in October 2023. On November 8, 2023, HVO staff fixed the MLcam (visual imagery) and MTcam (thermal imagery); both are located near the summit of Mauna Loa.

Volcano Watch — Unrest Continues at Kīlauea Summit

kmulliken@usgs.gov — Thu, 26 Oct 2023 21:22:39 EDT

The most recent eruption at Kīlauea’s summit began on Sunday, September 10, 2023. Following weeks of heightened unrest, fissures opened on the Halema’uma’u crater floor and to the east on the “down dropped block,” a remnant of the older caldera floor that collapsed in 2018.

Temporary webcam outages on Wednesday and a new HVO webcam

kmulliken@usgs.gov — Mon, 23 Oct 2023 21:54:22 EDT

The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory announces temporary webcam image outages on Wednesday and a new webcam that provides views of Kīlauea's upper Southwest Rift Zone, looking north.

Photo and Video Chronology – Kīlauea GPS campaign continues

kmulliken@usgs.gov — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 14:31:31 EDT

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geophysicists continue performing the annual GPS survey of Kīlauea. Most Kīlauea and Mauna Loa GPS campaign survey sites have been occupied every year since the early 1990s, whereas the less active volcanoes Hualālai and Haleakalā are surveyed every 3–5 years.

Volcano Watch — Hawaii’s volcanoes are quiet and it’s a bit spooky

kmulliken@usgs.gov — Mon, 2 Oct 2023 20:43:28 EDT

Here in Hawaii nei, we don’t have the dramatically changing leaf colors and brisk temperatures that mark the arrival of Fall. And as October arrived this year, our night skies were dark, with no warm orange glow indicative of lava erupting on the surface.

Volcano Watch — What do we know about the Kulanaokuaiki Tephra of Kīlauea volcano?

kmulliken@usgs.gov — Thu, 28 Sep 2023 18:22:24 EDT

Kīlauea’s recent summit eruptions and lava lakes are exciting for residents, visitors, and scientists. However, Kīlauea has had numerous explosive eruptions in the last two thousand years that remain poorly understood.

Photo and Video Chronology – Kīlauea summit – September 18, 2023

kmulliken@usgs.gov — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 22:34:40 EDT

Kīlauea is not erupting. The summit eruption that began on September 10 ended on September 16. It is unlikely that the recent eruption will resume based on the behavior of past, short-lived summit fissure eruptions at Kīlauea summit in 1982, 1975, 1974, and 1971, which all ended abruptly. Future eruptions at Kīlauea's summit remain possible and HVO continues to monitor activity.

USGS HVO Volcanic Activity Notice: Kīlauea summit eruption stopped, status downgrade YELLOW/ADVISORY

kmulliken@usgs.gov — Sun, 17 Sep 2023 12:25:28 EDT

The Kīlauea summit eruption that began on September 10th stopped yesterday, September 16th, and is unlikely to restart. No unusual activity has been noted along Kīlauea’s East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone.

Photo and Video Chronology – Views of Kīlauea summit eruption – September 15, 2023

kmulliken@usgs.gov — Fri, 15 Sep 2023 20:05:36 EDT

Several vents continue to erupt on the western side of the downdropped block within Kīlauea's summit caldera and are generating lava flows onto Halema‘uma‘u crater floor.

Volcano Watch — Another Kīlauea summit eruption, another opportunity to learn

kmulliken@usgs.gov — Thu, 14 Sep 2023 22:42:00 EDT

Kīlauea is now erupting at the summit for the fifth time since 2020! The ongoing eruption offers an opportunity for Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) staff to learn and collaborate with partners at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo (UH-Hilo) Geology Department.

Photo and Video Chronology – Analyzing Kīlauea summit eruption samples – September 14, 2023

kmulliken@usgs.gov — Thu, 14 Sep 2023 19:40:19 EDT

Kīlauea's summit eruption continues. HVO staff are work on analyzing lava samples, with analytical help from partners at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo (UH-Hilo) Geology Department.

Photo and Video Chronology – Kīlauea summit eruption continues – September 13, 2023

kmulliken@usgs.gov — Wed, 13 Sep 2023 19:15:10 EDT

The Kīlauea summit eruption that began on September 10th, continues. Eruptive activity is confined to the downdropped block and Halemaʻumaʻu crater within Kīlauea's summit caldera. No unusual activity has been noted along Kīlauea’s East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone.

Photo and Video Chronology – New eruption at Kīlauea summit continues – September 11, 2023

kmulliken@usgs.gov — Mon, 11 Sep 2023 16:06:09 EDT

The Kīlauea summit eruption that began yesterday at 3:15 p.m., September 10th, continues this morning. Eruptive activity is confined to the downdropped block and Halemaʻumaʻu crater within Kīlauea's summit caldera. No unusual activity has been noted along Kīlauea’s East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone.

Photo and Video Chronology – New eruption at Kīlauea summit – September 10, 2023

kmulliken@usgs.gov — Mon, 11 Sep 2023 00:35:58 EDT

Kīlauea volcano is erupting. At approximately 3:15 p.m. HST on September 10, 2023, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory observed eruptive activity in Kīlauea summit webcam images and from field reports indicating that an eruption has commenced within Halemaʻumaʻu crater and on the down dropped block to the east in Kīlauea’s summit caldera, within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

Kīlauea Volcano Activity Notice — status upgrade to RED/WARNING, eruption at the summit

kmulliken@usgs.gov — Sun, 10 Sep 2023 18:00:08 EDT

Volcano Watch — Tilt measurements still vital to volcano monitoring after more than a century

kmulliken@usgs.gov — Thu, 7 Sep 2023 21:13:29 EDT

Measuring how a volcano deforms in response to moving magma is one of the cornerstones of volcano monitoring. Our instrumentation includes a number of newer, satellite-based methods but another important instrument has been around a lot longer: the tiltmeter.

Photo and Video Chronology – HVO deploys new webcam and monitoring equipment at Kīlauea summit – August 25, 2023

kmulliken@usgs.gov — Fri, 1 Sep 2023 15:17:50 EDT

On August 25, 2023, HVO staff deployed a new webcam and survey equipment in Kīlauea's summit region. Kīlauea volcano is not erupting but earthquakes and ground deformation indicate that Kīlauea's summit region is becoming increasingly pressurized.

Volcano Watch — The most unusual Kīlauea eruption…maybe 1823?

kmulliken@usgs.gov — Thu, 17 Aug 2023 18:44:21 EDT

Last month a "Volcano Watch" article discussed the bicentennial of the first visit of westerners to Kīlauea caldera, led by English missionary William Ellis, in 1823. Ellis did not just visit the summit region; he had approached from Kaʻū, traveling along what eventually became known as Kīlauea’s Southwest Rift Zone (SWRZ).

Photo and Video Chronology – Kīlauea – August 14, 2023

kmulliken@usgs.gov — Mon, 14 Aug 2023 21:31:36 EDT

During the past month, HVO scientists and field engineers have conducted fieldwork on Kīlauea.

Volcano Watch — Searching for tephra from one of Kīlauea’s largest explosive eruptions

kmulliken@usgs.gov — Fri, 11 Aug 2023 02:09:34 EDT

Understanding the eruptive history of volcanoes in Hawaii requires a tremendous amount of time and effort examining deposits. Typically, older eruptions have less material exposed at the surface because younger eruptions bury them, or wind and rain erode them.

Volcano Watch — Monitoring Kīlauea with Ocean Noise

kmulliken@usgs.gov — Thu, 27 Jul 2023 19:09:45 EDT

Ocean swells are constantly occurring across the Earth’s oceans. These swells interact with the ocean crust below, creating continuous ocean noise that travels all over the Earth, including through our active volcanoes here in Hawaii. Because ocean noise signals are always being generated, scientists can use these seismic sources to identify small changes occurring in the Earth’s crust over time.

Photo and Video Chronology – Kīlauea – July 21, 2023

kmulliken@usgs.gov — Fri, 21 Jul 2023 15:10:28 EDT

During July, USGS staff are deploying temporary instruments to collect ground-based magnetotelluric (MT) data to image structure and fluids beneath the surface of Kīlauea.

Volcano Watch — Halema‘uma‘u’s 1967-68 eruption: another crater-filler

kmulliken@usgs.gov — Thu, 20 Jul 2023 17:58:57 EDT

Kīlauea’s activity from 2018 until now has been compared to cycles of summit collapse and refilling prior to 1924. However, Kīlauea also exhibited similar behavior during the 1967-68 Halema‘uma‘u eruption.

Volcano Watch — Two hundred years of written observations of Kīlauea’s summit activity

kmulliken@usgs.gov — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 21:25:49 EDT

On August 1, 1823, an English missionary named William Ellis visited Kīlauea caldera with his Hawaiian guides on a tour of the Island of Hawaiʻi. He and his missionary companions were the first westerners to visit the summit of Kīlauea, and the book that Ellis later published includes the first contemporary written observations of Kīlauea’s eruptive activity.

Photo and Video Chronology – Kīlauea summit – June 23, 2023

mzoeller@usgs.gov — Fri, 23 Jun 2023 15:00:00 EDT

The eruption in Halema‘uma‘u crater entered a pause during the afternoon of June 19, 2023. The eruption, which was occurring inside the Kīlauea summit caldera within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, began during the morning of June 7, 2023.

Volcano Watch — What is the highest elevation reached by Halemaʻumaʻu lava?

mzoeller@usgs.gov — Thu, 22 Jun 2023 15:00:00 EDT

The 2018 collapse of southern Kaluapele (Kīlauea caldera) left a pit whose lowest point was about 500 m (1640 ft) above sea level (asl). Since 2020, that pit has filled to a little over 900 m (2950 ft) asl and one might wonder how high the lava level could go. We can’t answer that question but we can get an idea by looking to Kīlauea’s past.

Photo and Video Chronology – Kīlauea summit eruption – videos prior to June 19, 2023 pause

mzoeller@usgs.gov — Thu, 22 Jun 2023 09:25:00 EDT

This page is a collection of videos from prior to the pause, when the eruption was still vigorous.

Photo and Video Chronology – Kīlauea summit eruption – photos prior to June 19, 2023 pause

mzoeller@usgs.gov — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 14:00:00 EDT

This page is a collection of photos from prior to the pause, when the eruption was still vigorous.