Images

High-resolution satellite data are useful for mapping cracks and deformation in the summit caldera at Kīlauea Volcano.

One portion of the braided section of the fissure 8 lava channel.

Near the coast, the northern margin of the lava flow field is still oozing fresh lava at several points in the area of Kapoho Beach Lots. Smoke marks locations where lava is burning vegetation.

Two U.S. Geological Survey Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) pilots perform a routine inspection of a UAS system prior to a flight at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano in June 2018. The UAS for this particular flight was outfitted with a multi-gas sensor to identify any new degassing sources within the collapsing summit caldera.

Night view of the lava channel toward fissure 8 under a nearly full moon. This image was taken from an observation point near the right-hand bend in the channel where it turns southward around Kapoho Crater.

Early morning view of Fissure 8. Lava roils and pours out of the spatter cone into the open channel.

View of the ocean entry (lower left) from this morning's overflight. Lava was entering the ocean across a broad area primarily on the north part of the lava delta.

A small overflow from the lava channel (left side of image) captured by an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS). Small overflows on both sides of the channel occurred shortly after midnight in the uppermost part of channel. None of these overflows extended past the existing flow field.

Lava continues to enter the sea along the southern Kapoho coastline. Lava enters the ocean primarily through an open channel, but also along a 1-km (0.6 mi) wide area. Also visible in the image (center right) is an area at the northern margin of the flow field that is oozing fresh lava at several points in the area of Kapoho Beach Lots.

Overflows from the perched lava channel are seen as incandescent (glowing) fingers moving down the sides of the channel (left side of photo). Fissure 8 lava fountain in photo center.

Continued eruption at Fissure 8 feeds the voluminous lava channel to the ocean as seen during this morning's overflight of the lava-flow field.

Recent explosive events haven't produced significant ash plumes from the summit, but downwind communities may still experience ashfall when previously erupted ash is remobilized. On authorized permission from Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, our Unmanned Aircraft Systems crew is conducting gas measurements at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō.

Comparison of photographs taken on June 13 and 26 from near Keanakāko'i Crater overlook in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park shows a subsidence scarp that formed as the Kīlauea Crater floor subsided. Scientists estimate the dramatic dropping of the crater floor in this area occurred sometime between June 23 and 26. The view is to the west.

Lava from fissure 8 is entering the sea this morning on the southern portion of the flow front primarily through the open channel, but also along this 1 km (0.6 mi) wide area with multiple laze plumes from smaller oozing lobes.

A UAS mission on June 24, 2018, filmed details of the dramatic changes occurring within Halema‘uma‘u crater at Kīlauea's summit since explosive eruptions of ash and gas and ongoing wall collapse began in mid-May. Clearly visible are the steep crater walls that continue to slump inward and downward with ongoing subsidence at Kīlauea's summit.

Lava within the braided portion of the fissure 8 channel is flowing within its banks. View looking downstream toward the sunrise over the ocean entry.

At 10:41 p.m.

Southward facing view of the point at which the fissure 8 lava channel bifurcates.

North facing view of the 1 km (0.6 mi) long ocean entry with multiple lobes of lava flowing into the sea.

Early morning view of the open lava channel during helicopter overflight of the lower East Rift Zone.

This panorama of Kīlauea's summit caldera was made about 10 a.m. HST from the Keanakāko‘i overlook on the south side of the caldera. Halema‘uma‘u is visible steaming to the left, and the ongoing ground cracking is visible in the center of the image.