Images

USGS scientists are deploying temporary sites on Kīlauea during July to conduct magnetotelluric (MT) sounding. At each site, electrodes and wire coils buried at shallow depths will passively measure the electromagnetic (EM) energy generated by lightning strikes around the equator.

USGS staff are deploying temporarily instruments to collect ground-based magnetotelluric (MT) data to image structure and fluids beneath the surface of Kīlauea.

Web camera view of the onset of the June 7 eruption of Kīlauea volcano from the summit caldera.

Map of the American Samoa volcano-monitoring network (top). Data from Wake Island hydrograph (located about 4,500 km, or 2,900 miles, northwest of Taʻū Island) shows the general trend in the number of events during the 2022 earthquake swarm (bottom left). Locations for larger earthquakes (M2.5 and greater) are available starting August 20, 2022 (bottom right).

Interior Secretary, Deb Haaland, presented with lei by David Phillips, Deputy Scientist-in-Charge of the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, during a ceremony to celebrate the creation of a new facility that will monitor volcanoes and support conservation science.

Federal, state, local and University of Hawai´i leaders and students celebrate the creation of a new facility that will monitor volcanoes and support conservation science.

View looking south over Halemaʻumaʻu crater at the Kīlauea summit, captured during a helicopter overflight on Thursday, June 22, 2023. The cone built up during the most recent eruption is visible on the southwest (center-right) wall of the crater.

View looking southwest across the Halemaʻumaʻu crater floor within the Kīlauea summit caldera, captured during a helicopter overflight on Thursday, June 22, 2023. Lava erupted during the most recent eruption comprises the crater floor in the bottom half of the photo.

Lava fountaining and effusion in Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea, paused abruptly around 4:00 p.m. on Monday, June 19. This comparison shows activity at the southwest wall eruptive vent the day before (left), and the same spot just after activity paused on Monday (right). USGS photo by M. Patrick.

Just hours after the pause in the Kīlauea summit eruption on June 19, 2023, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists visited the south rim of Halemaʻumaʻu crater to check for any residual activity. They captured this photo of the inactive eruptive vent (lower left) and the cooling lava lake (right).

A USGS gas scientist uses an infrared spectrometer to collect gas chemistry measurements from the plume in Halemaʻumaʻu crater at the summit of Kīlauea on Saturday, June 17, 2023.

A nighttime view of the southwest side of Halemaʻumaʻu crater at the summit of Kīlauea on Saturday, June 17, 2023. Seen here are the lava fountain and channel emerging from the base of the spatter cone that forms eruptive vent on the southwest wall of the crater. USGS photo by M. Cappos.

A nighttime close-up view of the upwelling area at the base of the spatter cone within Halemaʻumaʻu crater at the summit of Kīlauea on Saturday, June 17, 2023. This upwelling feeds a lava channel that spreads out to the east of the spatter cone. USGS photo by M. Cappos.

A nighttime close-up view of spattering from the lava fountain on the southwest wall of Halemaʻumaʻu crater at the summit of Kīlauea on Saturday, June 17, 2023. The fountain is to the left of this photo’s field of view; the fragments of lava darken as they cool and solidify mid-air as they travel away from the fountaining vent. USGS photo by P. Nadeau.

A long-exposure view of the lava fountain in Halemaʻumaʻu crater at the summit of Kīlauea on Saturday, June 17, 2023. The long exposure time allows the camera to capture the full arc-shaped trajectories of spatter fragments thrown out by the lava fountain. USGS photo by P. Nadeau.

View from the southern rim of Halemaʻumaʻu crater at the summit of Kīlauea on Friday, June 16, 2023, showing the southwest eruptive vent that is currently spattering and feeding lava flows on the crater floor. The fountaining is continuous, with lava bombs being thrown at least 10 m (33 ft) upwards and at least twice that distance away from the vent.

Close-up view of the southwest eruptive vent in Halemaʻumaʻu crater at the summit of Kīlauea on Friday, June 16, 2023, as it spatters and feeds lava flows on the crater floor. The fountaining is continuous, with lava bombs being thrown at least 10 m (33 ft) upwards and at least twice that distance away from the vent. USGS photo by D. Downs.

A helicopter overflight on June 16, 2023, allowed for aerial visual and thermal imagery to be collected of Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. The eruptive activity has consisted of lava fountaining supplying lava flows covering the southwest portion of the crater floor.

A helicopter overflight on June 16, 2023, allowed for aerial visual and thermal imagery to be collected of Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. The eruptive activity has consisted of lava fountaining supplying lava flows covering the southwest portion of the crater floor.

This compilation shows a sequence of thermal maps of the ongoing eruption in Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. The high initial eruption rates in the opening day of the eruption supplied numerous lava fountains that covered the entire crater floor with new lava.

Southwest-looking view of the Kīlauea summit eruption within Halemaʻumaʻu crater, captured during a Hawaiian Volcano Observatory helicopter overflight the morning of June 16, 2023. Active lava can be seen erupting from a vent on the southwest (far side) crater wall.