Images

Kīlauea summit KW webam image taken on December 21, 2020, just after 6:30 a.m. HST. The water lake, present until the evening of December 20, 2020, has been replaced by a lava lake; fissures in the wall of Halemaʻumaʻu feed a lava lake that continues to fill the crater.

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) scientists monitor the Halema‘uma‘u lava lake using state-of-the-art instruments acquired through the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019. Supplemental funds are supporting HVO’s recovery and rebuilding in the wake of Kīlauea’s 2018

On the morning of Dec. 21, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory gas scientists use a FTIR spectrometer on the rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater. The FTIR measures the composition of the gases being emitted during Kīlauea Volcano's ongoing summit eruption by measuring how the plume absorbs infrared energy.

Photo shows volcanic gases from the current eruption at Kīlauea’s summit being transported southwest into the closed area (left side of photo). This photo also shows the cracks, cliffs, and uneven ground surfaces present in the closed area of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. USGS photo by K. Mulliken on 12/21/2020. 

A Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geophysicist deploys campaign GPS sites on the Kīlauea caldera floor in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park to measure changes in ground motion. The gas plume from the summit eruption within Halema‘uma‘u crater is visible in the background. USGS photo taken by A. Ellis on December 21.

On the morning of Dec. 21, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory gas scientists use a FTIR spectrometer on the rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater. The FTIR measures the composition of the gases being emitted during Kīlauea Volcano's ongoing summit eruption by measuring how the plume absorbs infrared energy.

Kīlauea summit KW webcam image taken on December 20, 2020, just before 6 p.m. HST. Three and a half hours later, at 9:30 p.m., an eruption began in the walls of Halemaʻumaʻu crater, vaporizing the lake.

Shortly after approximately 9:30 p.m. HST, an eruption commenced at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. Red spots are the approximate locations of fissure vents feeding lava flowing into the bottom of Halema‘uma‘u crater. The water lake at the base of Halema‘uma‘u crater has been replaced with a growing lava lake.

December 20, 2020, Kīlauea volcanic plume shown from the Gemini Observatory on Mauna Kea (left) and a 3D radar visualization from the same perspective. The radar reflectivity isosurfaces reveal the plume’s internal and external structure.

Example of 2D and 3D radar visualization of the December 20, 2020, Kīlauea volcanic plume. Displayed in photo (top, USGS photo), 2D radar scan from station PHWA (middle, NOAA Weather and Climate Toolkit), and 3D radar visualization (bottom, Google Earth).

ANIMATED GIF: At Kīlauea summit, the KWcam webcam recorded several small color changes along the lake margin following rockfalls which impacted the lake surface. These rockfalls immediately followed a M3.1 earthquake Wednesday evening, December 2, at 5:59 p.m. HST. This animated image file (GIF) continuously loops two consecutive webcam images from 5:50 p.m.

KWcam webcam image from December 2 at 6:00 p.m. HST, immediately following a M3.1 earthquake at Kīlauea summit. Several rockfalls down the talus slope impacted the summit water lake, causing some brief localized color changes of the lake surface (circled in yellow).

Tephra layers preserved at the summit of Kīlauea from at least three different eruptions. Deposits below the top of the scale are predominantly juvenile and deposits above it containing many lithics. Notice the larger size of the yellow pumice clasts compared to the much denser and finer grey lapilli and ash surrounding them from 7 to 18 on the scale.

Dark brown colors dominated the central and western portions of the lake at Kīlauea's summit. The greenish hues were present in areas that appear to be zone of hot water influx into the lake. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

A quick visit to the western caldera rim provided brief views of Kīlauea's summit lake between rain showers. The lake colors were particularly vibrant today, with a deep blue-green color in the western end (bottom of photo), with dark brown near the center. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

View looking southwest along the Southwest Rift Zone of Kīlauea Volcano. The unvegetated nature of the Southwest Rift Zone is on full display with the Keanakākoʻi Tephra in the foreground overlying lava flows from Cone Peak (the cone in the middle ground to the right).

As part of routine monitoring efforts, HVO gas scientists collected helium samples from fumaroles in the Sulphur Banks, or Ha‘akulamanu, area of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park on September 30, 2020. Helium can pass through the glass of typical gas sampling bottles, so copper tubing is necessary for the specialized sample.

A close-up image of native sulfur crystals that formed within fumaroles at the Sulphur Banks in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. In addition to sulfur species and other gases, volcanoes emit water vapor. Here, some of the vapor has condensed to liquid water and formed droplets visible on the sulfur crystals. USGS photo by P. Nadeau. 

Tubing inserted into a fumarole at the Sulphur Banks in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park allows HVO gas scientists to sample gas. The gas travels through the tube into gas sampling bottles for later analyses. USGS photo by M. Warren.

Different sulfur gases, including sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), can react with each other to deposit crystals of pure native sulfur at sites of degassing called fumaroles. The crystals picture here formed within a Sulphur Banks area fumarole in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. USGS photo by T. Elias.

Small patches of light-colored floating material were seen drifting on the surface of Kīlauea's summit water lake on September 23, 2020. The composition of this material is unknown, but future water sampling missions may provide insight. USGS photo by M. Patrick.