The ups and downs of Kīlauea's summit lava lake

Kīlauea Volcano's summit lava lake level typically rises and falls in concert with summit inflation and deflation, as shown by these two HVO webcam images. The left image was captured a week ago (on Jan. 17, 2017), when the lava level was 52.5 m (172 ft) below the vent rim, the lowest level measured since April 8, 2016. The right image, captured this morning (Jan. 24, 2017), shows the lava lake level at 15 m (49 ft) below the vent rim. Unfortunately, gases emitted from the lava lake and poor weather conditions partially obscure the images.