GIS shapefiles for Kilauea's episode 61g lava flow, Pu`u `O`o eruption: May 2016 to May 2017

This dataset contains shapefiles and associated metadata for Kīlauea volcano's Puu Ōō episode 61g lava flow from May 24, 2016 through May 31, 2017. Episode 61g began with a breakout from the east flank of Puu Ōō on May 24, 2016. Lava reached the Pacific Ocean at Kamokuna on July 26, 2017, and began building a lava delta that extended seaward from the original coastline. This lava delta collapsed into the ocean on December 31, 2016, as reflected in the data for January 12, 2017 and thereafter. The episode 61g lava flow continues as of May 31, 2017, the date of the last mapping to contribute to this dataset.

One mapping date is included for each calendar month - usually late in the month - from May 2016 through May 2017, with two exceptions: two mapping dates are included for June 2016 to demonstrate the early expansion of the lava flow, and no mapping data were available for April 2017, so data from May 3, 2017 are included instead. Two shapefiles are associated with each mapping date: a polyline shapefile for the lava flow contacts with their attributes, and a polygon shapefile for the full extent of the lava flow on that date. In total, this dataset contains 28 shapefiles with associated metadata for 14 separate mapping dates. The lava flow contacts were mapped on the ground using GPS or digitized from images collected by a variety of aerial and satellite sources; the metadata include detailed descriptions of these sources.