Images

During a Kīlauea summit monitoring field shift on the evening of June 2, HVO geologists observed no eruptive activity or any major changes at the Halema‘uma‘u crater lava lake. No incandescence was visible anywhere on the lake surface or around the vents.

View looking to the east of the western part of the now inactive lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, taken on May 28th. The west vent area is at the bottom. The glowing vent area in the photo taken in the evening on May 24th is visible in the bottom right, with a white rim at the top of the now inactive vent.

Kīlauea Volcano is no longer erupting. Lava supply to the Halemaʻumaʻu lava lake has ceased and sulfur dioxide emissions have decreased to near pre-eruption background levels.

This close-up view of the now-inactive western fissure within Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea was captured on Thursday, May 27, 2021. HVO scientists did not observe any incandescent lava or other signs of eruptive activity during a one-hour visit to the crater rim.

A wide view of the now inactive lava lake and west vent from the western rim of Halema‘uma‘u, at Kīlauea summit. The lava lake is entirely crusted over with no red, glowing lava at the surface. Diffuse volcanic gas plumes are still being emitted from the west vent and northern lake margin.

An overview of the lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u crater, at Kīlauea Volcano’s summit, taken on May 25. Kīlauea’s summit collapse in 2018 deepened Halema‘uma‘u crater by over 500 meters (1640 feet).

During an eruption monitoring shift on May 25, HVO field crews did not observe any active surface lava or incandescent areas within Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. Since the eruption began on December 20, 2020, over 40 million cubic meters (over 10 billion gallons) of lava has been erupted.

Though no active surface lava was observed within Halema‘uma‘u on May 25, Kīlauea summit continues to emit volcanic gases. The most recent sulfur dioxide emission rate, measured on May 23, remains slightly elevated at 100 tonnes per day.

A zoomed-in view of the western vent within Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea, with a weak glow visible at dusk on Monday, May 24. USGS photo taken by B. Carr from the western rim of Halema‘uma‘u.

On the evening of May 24, no active surface lava was observed within Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. Small spots of incandescent lava were visible beneath cracks in the lake surface crust (center) and at the west vent (left).

A zoomed-in view of the western lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u, at Kīlauea summit, where two locations of faint incandescence are visible beneath the surface crust (upper right). Eruptive activity has decreased significantly in the past few weeks and the once active lava surface has cooled and crusted over. USGS photo taken by B. Carr at dusk on May 24, 2021.

No active surface lava was visible within Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea, during a field visit yesterday morning. F1cam thermal images from yesterday afternoon show hot surface crust, but no active lava. F1cam thermal images from the morning of May 21 showed at least one small resurfacing event.

A close-up view of the western fissure vent complex and gas plume within Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea. Gas emissions remain slightly elevated, with the most recent measurements on May 18 at 100 tonnes per day. The lava inlet from the base of the west vent, which no longer appears to be active, is visible on the right.

Active surface lava in Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea, is now limited to a small lava pond near the western fissure. Normally the lava pond is covered in a stationary crust, as shown by the image on the left. Occasionally, the pond abruptly resurfaces with fluid lava, with foundering of crustal plates and abundant bubbling, shown by the image on the right.

Map and plot showing earthquakes at 20-40 km (12-25 miles) depth beneath the Island of Hawai‘i over the past week. Most of the earthquakes at this depth were clustered beneath the southern edge of the island near the town of Pāhala (blue dots).  USGS graphic.

A close-up view of the northeastern rim of the Halema‘uma‘u lava lake, at the summit of Kīlauea. This area of the lava lake has been degassing persistently for the past few months. Several large boulders, which fell from the crater walls, are visible near the perimeter of the northern lava lake crust (center).

This comparison of thermal images taken from the south rim of Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea, show the diminishing area of active lava on the surface over the past month. Today, active lava was limited to a small pond, about 20 meters (yards) long, near the western fissure. USGS images by M. Patrick.

This close-up view of the of the Halema‘uma‘u lava lake at the summit of Kīlauea was captured on Tuesday, May 18. During an approximately one-hour visit to the crater rim, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists' only observation of active lava was the crustal foundering event captured here, which lasted approximately five minutes.

The lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea, remains active, although surface incandescence (glowing red lava) has become less frequent over the last few days. In this view looking northwest, two elongated lobes oriented west (left) to east (right) with a relatively smooth shiny grey surface are visible in the center of the photo.

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists conducted an overflight of Kīlauea's summit on the morning of May 13. Though no incandescence was visible during the overflight, field crews monitoring the ongoing eruption in Halema‘uma‘u from the ground observed a small amount of fluid lava on the surface later in the day.

The area of solidified crust at the surface of Halema‘uma‘u's lava lake, at the summit of Kīlauea, has been growing over the past several weeks. This may make it seem that the eruption is over but lava continues to be supplied to the lava lake from below.