Images

On June 23, 2018 at 4:32 p.m. HST after approximately 17 hours of elevated seismicity, a collapse explosion occurred at the summit if Kīlauea. The energy released by the event was equivalent to a magnitude 5.3 earthquake.

Geologists captured this time-lapse video of the perched lava channel issuing from fissure 8 on Kīlauea's lower East Rift Zone.

Early morning view of the open lava channelbeginning about 5 km (3.1 miles) from Fissure 8.

Lava continues to erupt at a high rate from Fissure 8 and flow within the established channel to the ocean. No channel overflows were observed during this morning's overflight.

Halema'uma'u crater at 8:30 a.m., view is toward the south. Several benches are clearly visible within the crater.

Early morning view of the ocean entry. The lava fountain from fissure 8 is visible behind the laze plume rising from the entry point. The open lava flowchannel is visible just beyond the solidified darker flows in the foreground.

At a wide point in the channelized lava flow, a ropy crust has formed over the more fluid lava below.

The USGS UAS (unoccupied aircraft system) team took this photograph of Halema‘uma‘u Crater from the Kīlauea Overlook on this morning. They are preparing for a flight to map further subsidence at the summit.

Fissure 8 continues building a tephra cone and producing a robust channelized lava flow on Kīlauea Volcano's Lower East Rift Zone.

View of the southern edge of the growing Halema‘uma‘u crater (middle right) during yesterday's helicopter-assisted work at Kīlauea's summit. The once-popular parking lot (closed since 2008) that provided access to Halema‘uma‘u is no longer—the parking lot fell into the crater this past week as more and more of the Kīlauea Crater floor slides into Halema‘uma‘u.

Lava from fissure 8 travels about 13 km (8 mi) to the ocean in an open channel. Lava remains incandescent (glowing orange) throughout its journey. The ocean entry is at upper right.

HVO geologist measures 260 degrees C (500 degrees F) along ground cracks near fissure 10 in Leilani Estates. Geologists routinely make temperature measurements to track changes throughout the fissure complex in the lower East Rift Zone.

Geologist makes early morning observations of the lava fountain and channelized flow at fissure 8 in Leilani Estates.

Geologist makes early morning observations of the lava fountain and channelized flow at fissure 8 in Leilani Estates.

Fissure 8 lava fountains reached as high as about 50 m (164 ft) during the past day.

Small streams of lava enter the ocean across a broad area, shown by the multiple white steam and laze plumes. Lava has added about 380 acres of new land into the sea.

Sluggish pāhoehoe briefly spills over a section the levee along the well-established lava channel. Such overflows generally travel short distances measured in meters (yards).

A temporary GPS station (with radio telemetry for continuous measurement) was installed this week on the Kīlauea caldera floor to track the ongoing subsidence of the summit area. The data will help to characterize the extent and rate of the subsidence.

A thick, dense plume of SO₂ and other volcanic gases billows from the lava fountains at fissure 8 on June 19, 2018. SO₂ emission rates during the 2018 eruption of Kīlauea were so high that they required a new data analysis technique.

Fissure 8 vigor increased overnight June 18-19 with lava fountains reaching up to 60 m (200 ft). Spatter built up the cone to the east and into the channel.

The northern channel margin of the fissure 8 lava flow. Small hill in the distance is the site of our PGcam. Overflows from the channel can be seen producing shiny black to silver pahoehoeflows (incandescent red breakout visible in center of photo).