Images

A telephoto image of the active lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea, taken on July 13. During the current deflationary tilt phase of a deflation-inflation event, the active lava lake level is about 9 m (30 ft) below the lake rim. The west vent cone (lower right) is about 24 m (79 ft) tall, with a few areas that were weakly incandescent.

This reference map depicts the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption on July 12, 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. The eruption statistics provided here are current as of the last HVO overflight on July 7, 2022.

Minor spattering was visible in the east end of the lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea, on July 8. Sulfur dioxide is visible emanating from the lake surface (the bluish-colored fume). A sulfur dioxide emission rate of approximately 2,800 tonnes per day (t/d) was measured on July 8. UGSS photo by K. Mulliken.

Telephoto image of a degassing hornito on the surface of the eastern part of Halema‘uma‘u crater floor. Halema‘uma‘u crater floor has several hornitos on its surface; each is several tens of feet tall (less than 30 meters) and is fed lava via a tube network beneath the solid surface crust. USGS photo by M. Loewen.

Fragments of spatter are visible above the west vent in Halema‘uma‘u in this telephoto image taken during a Kīlauea summit eruption monitoring shift on July 8. This low-level spattering, which was intermittent, reached heights of no more than 10 meters (33 feet) above the vent. USGS photo by M. Loewen.

From the south rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater, USGS scientists make observations of the eruption at Kīlauea summit. The western edge of Halema‘uma‘u crater floor is visible in the lower right part of the image, as is a section of Crater Rim Drive that collapsed in 2018. Mauna Loa is prominent in the background of the photo. USGS photo by K. Mulliken.

A telephoto view of the island that formed during the December 20, 2020, eruption within Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. The island has been slowly shrinking as lava flows encroach around and onto it. In the background, the line of steam marks where the rising floor of Halema‘uma‘u is lapping on to the down-dropped block to the northeast.

This photo shows the east end of Halema‘uma‘u crater, where the rising crater floor is lapping on to the sloped edge of the down-dropped block to the east. The down-dropped block formed during the collapse of Kīlauea summit in 2018. USGS photo by M. Loewen.

The eruption within Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea, continues. The lava level in the active lake, pictured here on July 8, dropped by several meters (yards) yesterday in association with summit deflation. USGS photo by K. Mulliken.

At left, the degassing plume at Kīlauea in 2013 as seen by a standard, visible-light camera. Note that plume is mostly transparent, with some blue/brown tones from aerosol scattering, and hard to distinguish from background cloud. At right, the plume from the same vantage point as seen by a UV camera.

Uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) flights on July 7, 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.

Uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) flights on July 7, 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.

On July 6, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory technicians conducted maintenance on a volcanic gas monitoring station in Kīlauea summit region. USGS photo by M. Cappos.

Map of Kīlauea volcano showing the helicopter flight-lines (in green) for the geophysical survey that will be conducted from approximately July 5-25, 2022. The survey will be conducted from air space over Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park (boundary in white on the map), Hawaii State lands, and Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate lands.

Map of Kīlauea volcano showing the helicopter flight-line (green) block boundaries (red) for the geophysical survey that will be conducted from approximately July 5-25, 2022.

This image shows the active lake surface of Halema‘uma‘u, as seen during a Kīlauea summit eruption observational field shift on June 29, 2022. The lava is flowing from left to right in this photo, and multiple areas of spatter can be seen (the red patches in the center of the photo and along the margin of the lake).

This image shows a small hornito degassing on the surface of Halema‘uma‘u crater floor, at the summit of Kīlauea. Hornitos are small, rootless cones that are fed by the tube network within the lava lake. Alteration from the persistent degassing is what causes some of the variation and color you can see in the area around the hornito (note the yellows and reds).

This image shows spattering on the active lake surface of Halema‘uma‘u, as seen during a Kīlauea summit observational field shift on June 29, 2022. The areas between the smooth, silvery plates on the surface spatter vigorously as these plates get dragged down into the molten lake and new plates of rapidly cooled lava form in their place. USGS photo by L.

Lava lake activity continues in Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea. This photo looks east, and shows that on June 24, the lava level was near the rim of the lake, with spattering along the east margin. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

Just north of the main lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea, there was a small zone of weak ooze-outs extruding from the crater floor on June 24. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

Left: Example of tephra deposits as they appear in the field. At this macro step, field geologists take notes and make detailed descriptions of the samples before collecting material for further study. Middle: A laboratory-prepared mount of volcanic glass in clear epoxy that has been polished for geochemical analysis.