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Photo and Video Chronology – Kīlauea Summit Overflight and Mauna Loa GPS Campaign – May 25, 2023

By Hawaiian Volcano Observatory May 25, 2023

HVO scientists conducted a Kīlauea summit overflight on May 23, 2023 and the annual Mauna Loa GPS campaign is underway.

HVO scientists collect detailed data to assess hazards and understand Kīlauea volcano. This information is 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. 

May 23, 2023 —  Kīlauea summit overflight

 

Color map of crater floor temperature
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A helicopter overflight on May 23, 2023, allowed for aerial visual and thermal imagery to be collected of Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. No active lava was present in the crater, with only scattered warm spots on the crater floor. The scale of the thermal map ranges from blue to red, with blue colors indicative of cooler temperatures and red colors indicative of warmer temperatures. 
Color map of crater floor temperature
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A helicopter overflight on May 23, 2023, allowed for aerial visual and thermal imagery to be collected of Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. No active lava was present in the crater, with only scattered warm spots on the crater floor. The scale of the thermal map ranges from blue to red, with blue colors indicative of cooler temperatures and red colors indicative of warmer temperatures. 
Color photograph of cars in parking lot
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Another aerial view of the Vibroseis truck near Maunaulu in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. The truck is generating seismic signals that will help to provide a new detailed view of shallow subsurface structures and the magma system beneath Kīlauea volcano’s summit. This will be the first scientific study with the potential to produce a detailed image of how magma is stored and moves beneath the summit. More information about the project is available here: https://www.usgs.gov/supplemental-appropriations-for-disaster-recovery-activities/science/2019-kilauea-disaster-2. Pauahi crater is visible in the background of the image. USGS image by K. Mulliken.
Color photograph of cars in parking lot
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The Vibroseis vehicle has been operating on roads in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park and in the Kīlauea summit region for the past several weeks. The vehicle belongs to the Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI) experimental facility at the University of Texas at Austin, which is supported with funding from the National Science Foundation. This aerial view shows the truck in the Maunaulu parking lot. You can learn more about the Kīlauea Seismic Imaging Project here: https://www.usgs.gov/supplemental-appropriations-for-disaster-recovery-activities/science/2019-kilauea-disaster-2. USGS image by K. Mulliken.
Color photograph of crater floor
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This aerial view, looking east across Halema‘uma‘u crater floor, shows the complex features formed during recent Kīlauea summit eruptions. The basin of the lava lake from the September 2021-December 2022 eruption is visibly steaming near the base of the photo, the island that formed during the December 2020-May 2021 eruption is brown-colored and visible in the center of the photo, and the basin that formed during the most recent January-March 2023 eruption is the complex basin-feature visible near the top of the image. USGS image by K. Mulliken.
Color photograph of caldera
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HVO scientists observed no changes to Kīlauea summit during a routine monitoring overflight the morning of May 23, 2023. Mauna Loa is visible in the background of the image. USGS image by K. Mulliken.
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A routine helicopter overflight provided aerial views of Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. The crater floor is covered by solidified lava erupted during the previous summit eruption, earlier this year. Inflation and seismic activity in the summit region indicate ongoing unrest. USGS video by M. Patrick.

 

May 23, 2023 — Mauna Loa GPS Campaign

 

Color photograph of GPS tripod on lava flow
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Another GPS survey benchmark being occupied on Mauna Loa. The metal disk on the ground beneath the tripod is the benchmark, which is cemented to the lava flow surface. Each year, the high-precision GPS unit is centered on the benchmark, and the height of the GPS unit on the tripod is accounted for when calculating how much that spot has moved vertically and horizontally over the past year. Mauna Kea is visible in the background. USGS photo by A. Ellis.
Color photograph of GPS tripod on lava flow
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During the annual Mauna Loa GPS campaign, scientists temporarily deploy a number of GPS instruments at established benchmarks; their recorded positions can be compared with those from previous years to discern subtle patterns of ground deformation associated with volcanic activity. These data augment the permanent, continuously recording GPS instruments in HVO's monitoring network. In this photo, a survey tripod is established over a benchmark near the summit of Mauna Loa; Moku‘āweoweo caldera is visible in the background on the image. USGS image by A. Ellis.
Color photograph of GPS tripod on lava flow
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Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geophysicists are performing the annual GPS survey of Mauna Loa. Most Mauna Loa GPS campaign survey sites have been occupied every year since 1996, whereas less active volcanoes Hualālai and Haleakalā are surveyed every 3–5 years. USGS image by A. Ellis.

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