Images

Oblique view of an example simulation showing lava flow advance from Fissure 22 (white line segments) of the 2018 Kīlauea lower East Rift Zone eruption. Color contours show the lava flow front in 1-hour increments. The simulated flow entered the ocean after 22 hours elapsed, comparable to the actual timeframe it took that lava flow to reach the ocean.

This map of the Kīlauea summit is mostly identical to the September 13, 2022, eruption reference map, but also included here are west to east topographic profiles across the caldera.

HVO permanent, continuously operating GNSS site in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park co-located with seismic instrumentation. USGS photo by K. Kamibayashi.

Photo of a GNSS monitoring site deployed by the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) on the floor of Kīlauea caldera as part of the rapid response to the December 2020 Halema‘uma‘u eruption.

This overview photograph of the Halema‘uma‘u eruption at the summit of Kīlauea was captured by a HVO geologist in the morning of August 24, 2022, from the webcam site on the west rim of the crater.

This reference map depicts the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption on August 18, 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.

Image of the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea. Lava enters the lake at the west end (bottom of image) and flow steadily towards the east end, where the crust is consumed along the lake margins. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

A helicopter overflight on August 16, 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.

A helicopter overflight on August 16, 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.

This reference map depicts the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption on August 8, 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.

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.