Images

Still image from January 2, 2020, YVO video update.

Jefferson Chang (far left) was one of four USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists who spoke about monitoring Hawaiian volcanoes and mentored students at the 2019 National Diversity in STEM Conference in Honolulu.

The December 18 overflight provided updated aerial photographs of Kīlauea summit, covering the caldera floor and showing the current size of the water pond in Halema‘uma‘u crater. The label "downdropped block" shows the large portion of the caldera floor that subsided, along with the Halema‘uma‘u region, during the 2018 eruption.

The December 18 overflight provided updated thermal images of Kīlauea summit, covering the caldera floor and showing the warm surface of the water pond in Halema‘uma‘u crater. A band of warm temperatures persists along the new cliff formed during the 2018 subsidence.

An HVO geologist uses a high-precision Global Positioning System (GPS) unit to collect latitude, longitude, and altitude data on a down-dropped portion of Kīlauea's caldera.

The 1880-1881 eruption of Mauna Loa produced lava flows that came within 1.7 km (1.1 mi) of the Hilo Bay shoreline. This painting by Charles Furneaux, "Night View 1880–1881, Eruption from Hilo Bay," illustrates the first two flows as they would have been in November 1880. In reality, however, both flows would not have been visible from this vantage.

Photos taken two weeks apart show the rise of water in Halema‘uma‘u. A white arrow denotes a large rock along the edge of the lake for comparing water levels in the two images. The water continues to rise at a rate of approximately 15 cm (6 in) per day. USGS photos by M. Patrick.

Clear Lake Volcanic Field, California. Tuff deposit outcrop.

After collecting a sample from the well using the narrow sampler shown, HVO staff transfer the water sample into a container. The water is collected periodically for chemical analyses so that changes in the water composition can be tracked. For more information about the Keller Well, please see HVO's Dec.

The communications hub at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō is precariously perched on the north rim, which is actively collapsing. This hub, and the PN cam behind the hub (to the left of image) will ultimately fall into the crater as the north rim continues to collapse.

On Tuesday, December 10 HVO staff visited Keller Well, a deep borehole at the summit of Kīlauea, to take quarterly measurements and samples. This photo shows an extra long measuring tape, which has a sensor attached to the end, being lowered into the well to measure the distance to the top of the water table.

The "Short-term Sulfur Dioxide Advisory Level Information" table (http://www.hiso2index.info/assets/FinalSO₂Exposurelevels.pdf) uses a six-tiered color-coded system to depict sulfur dioxide (SO₂) concentrations and provide guidance for different groups of people exposed to SO₂

Angel Terrace, Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park. Travertine deposits are abundant in the area. Photo by JoAnn Holloway, 2003.

Water collected from the lake at the bottom of Halema‘uma‘u is prepared for laboratory analyses at the USGS California Volcano Observatory. Results thus far reveal chemistry indicative of complex reactions between the water, magmatic gases, and Kīlauea's basaltic rocks.

USGS-HVO scientists and DOI UAS team members collect samples of water from the Halema‘uma‘u crater lake. 

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and DOI Office of Aviation staff prepare the sampling mechanism (on blue tarp) and inspect the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) just before it took off to collect water from the Halema‘uma‘u crater lake.

On November 15, 2019, USGS HVO field engineers rapidly deployed a new data-telemetry hub near Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. A crack near an important telemetry hub at near the summit of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō was observed to be growing over the past several weeks and HVO field engineers prepared a contingency telemetry hub to install nearby if necessary.

_{Sulphur Cone (left), viewed toward southwest, from 3,480 m (11,420 ft) above sea level on Mauna Loa’s southwest rift zone. At right, an HVO geoscientist and technician rebuild volcanic gas monitoring equipment installed near an outgassing fissure.}
 

On November 8, 2019, USGS volcano scientists visited Kīlauea's Lower East Rift Zone to measure ambient gases, as well as the soil carbon dioxide (CO2) flux and temperature. This photo, looking in a southeast direction, shows some steaming uprift of the 2018 fissure system.

USGS scientists measured gases in an area uprift of the 2018 fissure system on November 8. In this area, vegetation has died because of lingering heat and steam. In some areas of Kīlauea's lower East Rift Zone, residents report smelling gases that are likely generated by decaying organic matter rather than magma degassing. USGS image by P. Nadeau.

In Kīlauea's lower East Rift Zone, a closed chamber was used to measure the rate of CO2 emitted directly from the ground near a crack emitting steam. USGS scientists continue to track changes in Kīlauea's lower East Rift Zone after last year's eruption. USGS image by P. Nadeau.