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Following the 2018 collapses of the caldera floor at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano (Anderson and others, 2019; Neal and others, 2019), the enlarged and deepened depression hosted a variety of volcanic activity between 2019 and 2022.  These events included an unprecedented water lake and two prolonged episodes of lava lake activity.  This data release includes images from a stationary thermal camera poised on the western caldera rim, with the camera providing a continuous record of the summit changes over this period.  The thermal images provide an excellent observational record of the activity owing to the ability to see through thick volcanic fume, and the clarity with which they highlight active portions of the lava lake (Patrick and others, 2014).

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These thermal camera images cover three phases of activity at the summit of Kīlauea. First, a water lake was present deep in Halemaʻumaʻu crater from July 2019 to December 2020 (Nadeau and others, 2020). Second, a rising lava lake filled the bottom of Halemaʻumaʻu from December 2020 to May 2021. Third, a second lava lake filled more of Halemaʻumaʻu from September 2021 into early 2022 (through the end of this data release period in January 2022).

Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details

Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details

The data release is available here: https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/61edcd20d34e8b818adb76c6

Patrick, M.R., Younger, E.F., and Tollett, W., 2022, Thermal camera data for the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, 2019–2022: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9HQHDMH.