Images

HVO's early morning helicopter overflight of Kīlauea's lower East Rift Zone showed that lava continues to flow into the ocean in the vicinity of Kapoho Bay and Vacationland.

Around 3:00 a.m. HST today (June 8), lava fountains erupting from fissure 8 on Kīlauea Volcano's Lower East Rift Zone were reaching heights of 180–220 feet.

Map as of 12:00 p.m. (noon) HST, June 8, 2018. Given the dynamic nature of Kīlauea's lower East Rift Zone eruption, with changing vent locations, fissures starting and stopping, and varying rates of lava effusion, map details shown here are accurate as of the date/time noted. Shaded purple areas indicate lava flows erupted in 1840, 1955, 1960, and 2014-2015.

Dramatic changes at Halema‘uma‘u could be seen through gases rising from the crater during HVO's overflight of the summit this morning at 10 a.m. HST. The view here looks to the southwest, with the former overlook parking lot barely visible to the left of the gas plume.

The Kapoho ocean entry (as of 6:30 a.m.

Outgassing from Halema‘uma‘u produced twin pillars that rose in the still morning air and merged into a towering cap above the summit of Kīlauea just after sunrise.

View of the fissure 8 lava fountain and lava channel that travels to the ocean, a distance of about 12.5 km (7.8 mi). Photo taken during this morning's overflight at about 6:30 a.m. HST.

An even larger crack, shown here, arcs across the parking lot and bounds one of the large blocks mentioned above.

The median between two areas of the parking lot has been warped and broken by cracks. Ash accumulation in the parking area was generally not more than 4 cm (1.5 in) thick.

This animated GIF shows a sequence of radar amplitude images that were acquired by the Italian Space Agency's Cosmo-SkyMed satellite system. The images illustrate changes to the caldera area of Kīlauea Volcano that occurred between May 5 and June 6 at 6:00 a.m. HST.

Lava entering the ocean in the vicinity of Kapoho Bay is forming a lava delta, as seen from the air during this morning's overflight at about 7:00 a.m. HST.

 Fissure 8 lava fountain heights fluctuated between about 40 m (130 ft) and 70 m (230 ft) during this morning's overflight at about 6:30 a.m. HST.

Many large blocks appeared to be in depressions in the ash, but upon closer examination, it was concluded that wind had winnowed ash from around the blocks, creating a false impression that the depressions were made by impact.

Crack on Crater Rim Drive just east of the parking lot, with the National Park sign indicating "Halema‘uma‘u" at right. This crack shows 42 cm (16.5 in) of right lateral offset—as measured by fitting the center stripe on the road back together)—and was about 25 cm (10 in) wide.

With careful consideration and planning to avoid ongoing volcanic hazards as much as possible, an HVO scientist who has been studying the behavior of Kīlauea's summit for decades, briefly visited the parking area for the former Halema‘uma‘u overlook (closed since 2008) on June 5 to make direct observations of and gather data from the effects of recent explosions wit

The Halema‘uma‘u parking lot is sliced into blocks by cracks. These cracks, first noted in a very early stage on May 13, now are the dominant features of the parking lot. The cracks, which are circumferential to Halema‘uma‘u, warp and offset the pavement and curbing, as seen here. The crack responsible for warping this curbstone is visible on both sides of it.

On June 6, at 4:07 p.m. HST, an explosion within Halema‘uma‘u sent an ash and gas plume to a height of about 10,000 feet above sea level. The explosion released energy equivalent to that of a magnitude-5.6 earthquake; a result of the explosion-related energy release was ground shaking felt throughout the summit area.

Lava enters the ocean in the vicinity of Vacationland at 7 a.m. HST. The ocean entry produces a white plume called "laze," which drifts downwind. Laze is composed of steam, hydrochloric acid and tiny volcanic glass particles, which can irritate the lungs, eyes and skin.

This view, looking south at Kīlauea's lower East Rift Zone, was captured during HVO's 6:00 a.m. HST helicopter overflight today.

This fish-eye view of the lava delta filling the former Kapoho Bay shows that while the delta margin nearest the ocean has cooled somewhat, the lava flow front is still very hot and producing laze (lava haze). Laze is a local hazard composed of acidic gases and volcanic glass fragments and should be avoided.

A robust laze (lava haze) plume rises from the northern side of the fissure 8 lava flow margins in the former Kapoho Bay.