Images

KWcam image taken on August 5, 2022, just after 9:30 a.m. HST. This image shows the ongoing eruption within Halemaʻumaʻu crater at the summit of Kīlauea. The eruption began the afternoon of September 29, 2021, as fissures in the floor of the crater; this activity is generating a lava lake that is slowly filling the crater.

Uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) flights on August 4, 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.

Telephoto view of the west vent in Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea, on July 29, 2022. Two small areas of incandescent orange glow can be seen on the south side of the cone. USGS photo by J.M. Chang.

Telephoto view of the active lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea. During an eruption monitoring shift on July 29, 2022, spattering was observed along the eastern margin of the active lake. Additionally, crustal plates (darker pieces within the silvery active lava lake) were observed forming and breaking apart. USGS photo by J.M. Chang.

Photo of Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea, taken on July 29, 2022, from the southwest rim. Abundant fumes can be seen coming from the west vent, on the far left side of the photo. The west vent continues to feed the active lava lake, which is the silver-colored area to the east (right) of the west vent. USGS photo by J.M. Chang.

Another telephoto view of the Airborne Electromagnetic and Magnetic (AEM) survey, taken as the helicopter traversed over Halema‘uma‘u crater floor, at Kīlauea summit. This photo was taken from Uēkahuna overlook within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, and helicopter and loop are visible in the center left of the image.

Telephoto image of helicopter flying the Airborne Electromagnetic and Magnetic (AEM) survey over Kīlauea caldera on July 28, 2022. The walls of Kīlauea caldera are visible in the background of the image. Photograph by Ray Crum.

This morning, July 28, the USGS-Hawaiian Volcano Observatory flew the Airborne Electromagnetic and Magnetic (AEM) survey over Kaluapele—Kīlauea summit caldera—within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. A helicopter flew about 120-175 ft above the ground in a grid-like pattern with a 40-ft horizontal loop suspended 35 ft below it.

A view of the Airborne Electromagnetic and Magnetic (AEM) survey over Kaluapele—Kīlauea summit caldera—taken from Uēkahuna overlook in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. The loop system below the helicopter transmits weak, low-frequency radio waves into the ground and measures the Earth response as well as passively detects variations in the Earth’s magnetic field.

Telephoto view of the Airborne Electromagnetic and Magnetic (AEM) survey helicopter flying over Kīlauea caldera on July 28, 2022. Photograph by Ray Crum. 

A telephoto view of the Airborne Electromagnetic and Magnetic (AEM) survey over Kaluapele (Kīlauea summit caldera) on July 28, 2022. The helicopter and hoop are visible in the center of the image, surveying over the down-dropped block within Kīlauea caldera. This project is funded by the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019 (H.R.

From the eruption-viewing area near Keanakāko‘i crater, within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, the Airborne Electromagnetic and Magnetic (AEM) survey helicopter and hoop were visible within Kīlauea caldera on July 28, 2022. This survey, which is funded by the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019 (H.R.

The Airborne Electromagnetic and Magnetic (AEM) survey helicopter and hoop were visible within Kīlauea caldera on July 28, 2022, from the eruption-viewing area near Keanakāko‘i crater, within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. NPS Photo/J.Wei 

Telephoto image of the Airborne Electromagnetic and Magnetic (AEM) survey being flown over Kīlauea caldera on July 28, 2022. The South Sulphur Bank area is visible in the background of the image as a light-colored deposits on the left side. NPS Photo/J.Wei 

Telephoto image of the Airborne Electromagnetic and Magnetic (AEM) survey helicopter and hoop flying over Kīlauea caldera on July 28, 2022.

Telephoto image of the the Airborne Electromagnetic and Magnetic (AEM) survey helicopter and hoop flying over Kīlauea caldera on July 28, 2022. During the survey, which is funded by the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019 (H.R. 2157), the helicopter flew about 150 feet above the ground. Photograph by Ray Crum. 

This reference map depicts the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption on July 22, 2022. One eruptive vent (orange) is active within Halema‘uma‘u, on the western side of the crater floor. An adjacent pond (purple) is feeding lava to a larger lake (red) via a crusted-over tube. The eruption statistics provided here are current as of the last HVO overflight on July 19, 2022.

HVO geologist Frank Trusdell collects a sample of lava from the fissure 8 channel during Kīlauea Volcano's lower East Rift Zone eruption in July 2018 (A. Hara). Inset photo shows Trusdell presenting an update on Mauna Loa for a West Hawaii Community Forum in February 2018 (Laura Ruminski/West Hawaii Today).  

During a Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Kīlauea summit monitoring overflight on July 19, 2022, lava was oozing out the northern edge of Halema‘uma‘u crater floor. Incandescent lava is visible in this area, near the bottom center of this image, where lava is slowly encroaching on the large down-dropped block that formed during the 2018 caldera collapse.

A closer view of active lava on the north margin of Halema‘uma‘u crater, at Kīlauea summit. This small pad of lava oozed out from the crater floor along the north boundary of the crater, near where the down-dropped block to the east slopes down towards Halema‘uma‘u crater. USGS image by K. Mulliken. 

An aerial image of the western portion of Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. The active lava lake within the western portion of Halema‘uma‘u crater is visible in approximately the center of the image, and lava spattering is visible along the eastern edge of the lake.