An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock () or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
Kīlauea's summit is no longer erupting; lava supply to the Halemaʻumaʻu lava lake has ceased and sulfur dioxide emissions have decreased to near pre-eruption background levels. HVO field crews—equipped with specialized safety gear—monitor for new changes from within the closed area of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park with NPS permission.
HVO scientists collect detailed data to assess hazards and understand evolving processes at Kīlauea's summit, all of which are shared with the National Park Service and emergency managers. Access to this hazardous area is by permission from, and in coordination with, Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.
June 3, 2021 — Kīlauea
Kīlauea summit Unoccupied Aircraft Systems (UAS) flight on June 3
This close-up Unoccupied Aircraft Systems (UAS) photo of the inactive western fissure within Halema‘uma‘u was captured on Thursday, June 3, 2021, at the summit of Kīlauea. The recent pause in the eruption has allowed the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) UAS pilots to safely photograph the eruptive features from new angles. For scale, the tallest parts of the western fissure stand approximately 19 m (62 ft) above the surrounding pāhoehoe flows in this view.UAS photos like this help scientists to understand ongoing volcanic processes and their associated hazards, and to detect changes that might indicate shifts in the character of activity. USGS has special use permits from the National Park Service to conduct official UAS missions as part of HVO's mission to monitor active volcanoes in Hawaii, assess their hazards, issue warnings, and advance scientific understanding to reduce impacts of volcanic eruptions. Launching, landing, or operating an unmanned aircraft from or on lands and waters administered by the National Park Service within the boundaries of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is prohibited under 36 CFR Closures & Public Use.
This Unoccupied Aircraft Systems (UAS) photo, looking straight down into the inactive western fissure within Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea, was captured on Thursday, June 3, 2021. One of the objectives of the UAS mission was to get a close-up look into the fissure to see if any incandescent lava was still visible. As evidenced by the darkness within the opening atop the fissure (center of frame), no active lava was observed. For scale, the height and width of this photo each span approximately 40 m (131 ft) laterally.UAS photos like this help scientists to understand ongoing volcanic processes and their associated hazards, and to detect changes that might indicate shifts in the character of activity. USGS has special use permits from the National Park Service to conduct official UAS missions as part of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory's mission to monitor active volcanoes in Hawaii, assess their hazards, issue warnings, and advance scientific understanding to reduce impacts of volcanic eruptions. Launching, landing, or operating an unmanned aircraft from or on lands and waters administered by the National Park Service within the boundaries of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is prohibited under 36 CFR Closures & Public Use.
Get Our News
These items are in the RSS feed format (Really Simple Syndication) based on categories such as topics, locations, and more. You can install and RSS reader browser extension, software, or use a third-party service to receive immediate news updates depending on the feed that you have added. If you click the feed links below, they may look strange because they are simply XML code. An RSS reader can easily read this code and push out a notification to you when something new is posted to our site.
