Images

An image of Halema‘uma‘u taken during a Kīlauea summit helicopter overflight on the morning of June 17, 2022. There are several areas of degassing (the small white plumes) located across the lake surface, some of which are associated with hornitos. Hornitos are small, rootless cones that are fed by the tube network within the lava lake.

Two hornitos degassing on the surface of Halema‘uma‘u, taken during a Kīlauea summit helicopter overflight on the morning of June 17, 2022. Hornitos are small, rootless cones that are fed by the tube network within the lava lake. These features are several tens of feet tall (less than 30 meters).

At the summit of Kīlauea, the eruption within Halema‘uma‘u continues. Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists conducted a field observation shift the morning of June 8. From the south rim of Halema‘uma‘u, the active lava lake in the west portion of the crater was nearly full and the surface crust was slowly moving west to east.

In this telephoto image taken from the south rim of Halema‘uma‘u, spattering and crustal foundering is visible in the east end of the active lava lake within the crater at Kīlauea's summit. Slabs of thin silvery crust are visible covering most of the lava lake surface; this crust was moving in a west-to-east motion the morning of June 8. USGS photo by J.

The crater floor of Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea is covered with lava flows erupted since the current eruption began on September 29, 2022. These lava flows are a patchwork of different ages, with overflows and ooze-outs along the margin of the crater floor covering new portions of the crater floor at different times.

Telephoto image of the west vent area within Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. During an HVO geology observation shift on June 8, the west vent area was steaming and degassing as were many other areas of the crater floor. A low roaring sound could be heard from the south rim of the crater, which seemed to come from the vent area. USGS photo by J.

This telephoto image, taken from the south rim of Halema‘uma‘u, shows the island of tephra that formed during the earliest stages of Kīlauea's summit eruption that began the evening of December 20, 2020. Lava erupted during the ongoing eruption continues to lap onto this feature, slowly burying it.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) staff, along with collaborators from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, are installing seismic nodes on the Southwest Rift Zone of Kīlauea this week as part of a project funded by the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019 (H.R. 2157).

Unlike permanent seismic stations, which are placed farther apart and cover the entire Island of Hawai‘i, the temporary seismic nodes will be tightly grouped in order to more densely record earthquake signals across the region surrounding Pāhala.

The magnetotelluric (MT) instruments pose no health risk to people or animals and over 1–2 days will collect data that will inform HVO and collaborating scientists about the subsurface structure and fluids.

Photo of the lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u Crater, at the summit of Kīlauea, taken at 11:47 a.m. HST on June 2, 2022. The photo is looking towards the northeast, with the west vent and active lava lake on the left side of the photo, partially obscured by abundant fumes. USGS photo by J.M. Chang.

Telephoto view of the west vent within Halema‘uma‘u Crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. USGS photo taken by J.M. Chang at 12:01 p.m. HST from the south rim. USGS photo by J.M. Chang.

View looking north of the active lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u Crater, at the summit of Kīlauea, during a volcano monitoring field shift on June 2, 2022. Spattering of lava occurred intermittently along the edges of the active lava lake basin, as shown by the orange areas on the north side of the basin.

During the first half of June, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) staff, along with collaborators from other parts of USGS,  temporarily deployed instruments to collect ground-based magnetotelluric (MT) data to image structure and fluids beneath the surface of Kīlauea.

HVO staff and collaborators install temporary instruments to collect magnetotelluric (MT) data on Kīlauea volcano’s south flank. At each location, electrodes, induction-coil magnetometers, and data loggers are deployed for 1–2 days. This photo shows a magnetometer being prepared for burial in a narrow and shallow trench to minimize wind noise.

At each magnetotelluric (MT) site, three electrodes are installed. The electrodes require electrical contact with the ground and are buried in shallow holes about the width and depth of a spade head. The electrode is encapsulated in a canvas bag filled with bentonite, and water is poured in the electrode hole to improve the contact resistance.

Lava lake activity continues in Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. A small stream of lava was pouring into a small pond northwest of the main lava lake, near the west vent. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

This map of the Kīlauea summit is mostly identical to the May 16, 2022, eruption reference map, but also included here are west to east topographic profiles across the caldera.

The feature shown in the photograph is a drainage outlet for the active lava lake of Halema‘uma‘u, a crater within the summit caldera of Kīlauea volcano. Surface plates from the active lake surface are dragged into the outlet and churned up. A small standing wave, about 1 meter or 1 yard tall, is present in the center of the outlet structure.

A view of the active lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u, taken during a Kīlauea summit monitoring field shift on the morning of May 18, 2022. The active lake is draining into the small pond on the right of the photograph. Spattering along the margins of the lake is common, seen here in the center of the photograph.

The vent within Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea, was degassing during a field observation visit on the morning of May 18, 2022. The vent is 56 feet tall (17 meters) and has a small puka (hole) visible with bright red glowing lava within on the right side of the photograph.