Images

An intrusion of magma into Kīlauea Volcano's lower East Rift Zone resulted in an eruption in Leilani Estates in the lower Puna District on the Island of Hawai‘i. The first four fissures to erupt in the subdivision are shown here on May 4, emitting copious amounts of hazardous sulfur dioxide gas.

With each large earthquake, ground shaking causes additional collapse within the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater, sending a plume of reddish-brown ash skyward. The size and vigor of a plume depends on the size of the earthquake and subsequent collapse. This roiling ash plume followed the magnitude-6.9 earthquake on May 4.

Lava moving down Makamae Street in Leilani Estates at 9:32 a.m. on May 6, 2018.

This map shows the locations, mapped by USGS-HVO scientists, of eruptive fissures in the order that they occurred in the Leilani Estates Subdivision as of 10:00 a.m. HST today (May 5).

This map shows the locations of eruptive fissures in the order that they occurred in the Leilani Estates Subdivision as of 10:00 a.m. HST today (May 5). The blue lines are paths of steepest descent that identify likely paths of a lava flow, if and when lava moves downhill from an erupting vent.

Eruptive fissures and areas covered by lava in the Leilani Estates subdivision, Island of Hawai‘i, are denoted on this satellite image acquired on March 17, 2018 (copyrighted image provided by Digital Globe).

Eruptive fissures and areas covered by lava in the Leilani Estates subdivision, Island of Hawai‘i, are denoted on this satellite image acquired on March 17, 2018 (copyrighted image provided by Digital Globe).

This map shows the locations, mapped by USGS-HVO scientists, of the three eruptive fissures in the order that they occurred in the Leilani Estates Subdivision as of 8:00 a.m. HST today (May 4). The fissures are jetting copious amounts of sulfur dioxide gas, which should be avoided.

Steaming cracks at 5:57 a.m. HST in Leilani Estates subdivision, moments before a fissure opened up on Kaupili Street.

At 10:30 HST, ground shaking from a preliminary magnitude-5.0 earthquake south of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō caused rockfalls and possibly additional collapse into the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater on Kīlauea Volcano's East Rift Zone. A short-lived plume of ash produced by this event lofted skyward and dissipated as it drifted southwest from Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō.

Belle Philibosian in a trench investigating the West Napa Fault near St. Helena, California, August 2017.

Group photo of Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Puna residents reported to HVO geologists the recent appearance of ground cracks on a couple of roads in and around Leilani Estates. No steaming or heat were observed to originate from the cracks, and the cracks are currently still small (no more than several inches across).

View from a drone!  Aerial view of Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center's Quissett Campus.

As of this afternoon (May 1), the eruption at the summit of Kīlauea has apparently not been affected by the collapse of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō or intrusion of magma along the volcano's Lower East Rift Zone.

Within hours of the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater floor collapse, HVO's monitoring instruments recorded increased seismicity and ground deformation along Kīlauea Volcano's East Rift Zone (ERZ) that continued through the night. These signals indicated an intrusion of magma from the Middle ERZ toward the Lower ERZ, extending from Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō to at least Highway 130.

This map shows recent changes to Kīlauea's East Rift Zone lava flow field and Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō cone. The 61g flow field, as of April 13, 2018, is shown in pink. The crack that formed on the west side of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō on April 30th, 2018, during or immediately after the crater floor collapse is shown as a solid black line.

Just before 10:00 a.m. today (Monday, April 30), a break in the weather allowed HVO's webcam to capture this image of the lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea. Following multiple overflows of the lava lake last week, the lake level dropped over the weekend in concert with the switch to summit deflation.

Vigorous overflows from Kīlauea's summit lava lake covered a large portion of the floor of Halema‘uma‘u this morning. In this video, the view starts from the north and heads south, showing the north and east sides of Halema‘uma‘u crater.

Night view of Kīlauea Volcano's summit lava lake from April 24, 2018, while lava from the lake overflow was spreading westward (to the right in the picture) from the Overlook Vent. USGS photo from the Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park Jaggar Overlook by M. Patrick.

Conceptual diagram showing impact of sea-level rise and wave-driven flooding on atoll-island groundwater. (A) Current sea level. (B) Future sea level. Sea-level rise will allow for greater wave heights (H) and wave-driven runup (R), resulting in frequent overwash that will contaminate the atoll island’s freshwater lens. Note: Heights are exaggerated.