Images

Partially submerged eelgrass bed at low tide in Fay Bainbridge Park on Bainbridge Island, Washington. Eelgrass is an underwater plant that is a common sight on Puget Sound beaches when the tide is out. Healthy eelgrass indicates that water clarity is high.

Preview image for video: shows the impressive spattering at the western margin of the lava lake at Halema‘uma‘u. The continuous spattering is often punctuated by bursts which throw lava onto the ledge (left portion of image), and this accumulating lava is building a spatter rampart.

The lava lake at Kīlauea's summit was about 65 m (215 ft) below the floor of Halema‘uma‘u crater today, with impressive spattering along its western edge.

The spatter from the lava lake was landing, in part, on the ledge adjacent to the lake, and then flowing away in a small channel toward the southern side of the vent where it was ponding and cooling. Notice the wrinkled crust on the surface of the lake.

Preview image for video: shows the impressive spattering at the western margin of the lava lake at Halema‘uma‘u. The continuous spattering is often punctuated by bursts which throw lava onto the ledge (left portion of image), and this accumulating lava is building a spatter rampart.

The level of the lava lake at Halema‘uma‘u has been relatively high over the past two days, following summit inflation, with lava close to the level of the deep inner ledge. Continuous spattering at the southern lake margin tosses spatter onto the crusted lake surface as well as onto the rim of the ledge, building a steep spatter rampart (left side of image).

Map showing the extent of lava flows erupted during Kīlauea's ongoing east rift zone eruption and labeled with the years in which they were active.

View looking east at the lava lake, 40-m (130-ft) across, that circulates within a shallow pit on the northeast side of the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater. The heavy fume in the background is the trace of the lava tube that carries lava downslope to the active flows near the coast.

View looking north-northwest at the flow field on the coastal plain. The light-colored flows at the center of the image are active. Surface activity is relatively weak, and the flows are making little, if any, headway toward the ocean. Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō is visible faintly through the haze at the upper right side of the photo.

Preview image for video: shows spattering that is typical at the margins of the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u crater. The slow migration of the lava lake surface is normally towards the area of spattering, where the lava sinks back into the magmatic system. Spatter in this clip is being thrown about 5-10 meters (yards) in height.

Map of the summit area of Kīlauea showing the location of the Halema‘uma‘u Overlook vent, and road and trail closures in response to the eruption. Kīlauea's caldera is located within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

The flows on the coastal plain continue to take their time on their path to the ocean. Today, relatively sluggish pāhoehoe breakouts were active about 1.1 km (0.7 miles) from the water. In the upper right portion of the photograph, fume sources on the pali mark the path of the lava tube coming through Royal Gardens subdivision.

Pele's hair covers much of the ground in the area immediately downwind of the vent at Halema‘uma‘u crater. Accumulations about a meter (yard) wide are found on the windward sides of the curbs in the Halema‘uma‘u parking lot, which is closed to the public because of the ongoing volcanic hazard.

Traditional construction throughout Burma utilizes bamboo and other lightweight building materials, resulting in structures that are not generally durable but are quite earthquake-safe.  As traditional structures such as this house give way to more modern masonry buildings, seismic risk will increase. 

The Schwedagon pagoda, Burma's most revered shrine, has been damaged multiple times by earthquakes throughout its long history.

The historic record documents many instances of damage to pagodas throughout Burma's cities and the countryside.  These ancient and beautiful structures bear witness to a significant level of seismic hazard.

Burma's most populous city, Rangoon, is underlain by a thick blanket of soft sediments that will significantly amplify earthquake shaking. With a period of economic expansion on the horizon, new construction such as these buildings in the capital city will be potentially vulnerable to earthquake damage unless appropriate seismic provisions are adopted in the bu

Map showing the extent of lava flows erupted during Kīlauea's ongoing east rift zone eruption and labeled with the years in which they were active.

Active flows are still spread out across a broad area on the coastal plain, and advancement towards the ocean remains relatively slow. This image is a composite of a thermal image and normal photograph, with white and yellow areas showing active pāhoehoe breakouts, and red areas showing inactive, but still warm, portions of the flow surface.

Another view of the flows on the coastal plain, showing the remaining distance to the ocean. The active flow front is near the center of the image (see above image for reference).

A lava pond has been active in a collapse pit in the eastern portion of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater for over a month now, with continuous roiling and spattering. For scale, two spatter collection trays - each slightly larger than a lunch tray - can be seen on the crater's rim at the left edge of the image.