Images

On March 10, 2023, geologists from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory visited the main island that was created during the first hours of the December 2020 eruption.

Aerial view looking northwest across the eastern part of the western pond basin within Halema‘uma‘u crater; the northern part of the southern pool basin is also visible. In the background, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists are working on the main island that formed in December 2020. USGS photo by J. Schmith.

A low-angle aerial view showing the steep walls of the western basin within Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. In the background, a Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist is working on the island that formed in the December 2020 eruption. USGS photo by J. Schmith.

An aerial photo looking north shows the December 2020 island and eastern vent area within Halema‘uma‘u crater. For the first time, conditions allowed Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists to visit the island. The crew can be seen in orange, working on the northwestern edge of the island. USGS photo by J. Schmith.

An aerial view looking down into the frozen pool basin south of the western lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. Spatter deposits can be seen all around the pool basin. The circular feature within the pool is the remains of a small, perched pond in the northern part of the pool basin. USGS photo by J. Schmith.

Close-up view of the pebbly, rubbly, and sandy texture of the tephra that formed in December 2020 when lava interacted with the water lake that was present at the base of Halema‘uma‘u crater at the time. Some of this tephra formed the island that then floated around the lava lake, and which is still present today. USGS photo by D. Downs. 

Aerial image of Halema‘uma‘u crater floor looking north and showing the architecture of the eastern part of the crater floor dominated by the eastern pond basin. The island from the December 2020 eruption can be seen rising in the western (left) side of the photo with the eastern vent area slightly to the east of the island.

This photograph shows darker-colored spatter from September 2021 and January 2023 eruptions in Halema‘uma‘u covering the lighter-colored tephra from the December 2020 eruption that makes up the bulk of the island in the middle of Halema‘uma‘u crater floor. USGS photo by D. Downs. 

Aerial photo looking east shows the Halema‘uma‘u western vent complex rising in the foreground. Notice how lava from the eastern end of the lake has flown around the western side and along the western went rampart. Further east is the basin that contained the active western pond and the small southern pool basin.

View of Halema‘uma‘u crater floor looking south and showing the island that formed during the December 2020 eruption (foreground) and crater floor (background). The December 2020 island has a thin surface of glassy spatter and tephra from the more recent Halema‘uma‘u eruptions that started in September 2021 and January 2023.

An aerial view of the western vent area shows the red oxidized interior walls of the ramparts with the several steaming areas. The outside southeastern side of the rampart and nearby crater floor is covered by a black apron of dust, possibly created by little tephra bits flying out of the now steaming vent (hole) in the rampart wall. USGS photo by J. Schmith.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists visiting Halema‘uma‘u crater floor on March 10, 2023. While there, they visited the island of tephra material that formed in December 2020. The island is a composite of red-yellow oxidized pieces that range from sand size to up to a few feet (about a meter) in diameter. USGS photo by D. Downs. 

Aerial image taken at approximately 9 a.m. HST on March 10 during an overflight of Halema‘uma‘u crater at Kīlauea summit. The wind blew steam east, which allowed Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists to take a closer look at the features of the western end of the crater floor. This low-angle view was taken from the western end of the crater and looks east.

Lava samples collected near Mauna Loa’s fissure 3 vent (shown in this December 7 overflight photo) are glassy and contain bubbles and some very small (200 microns or 0.008 inches long) minerals like plagioclase and pyroxene, as shown in the grey-scale microscope image inset. USGS photos by Kendra J. Lynn. 

The top panel is from before the 2018 Kīlauea eruption and shows two steps corresponding to slow slip events (SSEs).  The bottom panel is from after 2018 and shows no evidence of step-like motion indicative of SSEs, although the slight curve does suggest that a post-eruption increase in seaward motion is slowly returning to background.  The inset

During a Kīlauea summit eruption field shift on February 15, 2023, HVO geologists were able to briefly glimpse the active lava on Halema‘uma‘u crater floor between shifting mist and rain. The lava pond in the central portion of the crater floor has a small lava fountain, near which a rampart that is nearly 8 meters (26 feet) tall has formed.

A Koa‘e kea (white-tailed tropic bird) was flying through the mist and steam within Halema‘uma‘u crater the morning of February 15, 2023. These birds are frequently seen flying around the crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. USGS image by K. Mulliken.

Lava lake activity within Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea, continues. On February 14, low fountaining was present at the central vent, which was supplying lava into a channel that flowed towards the large eastern lake. USGS image by M. Patrick.

The western lake within Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea, remains active but sluggish. Since the eruption began in early January, the main focus of activity has been at the eastern and central lakes. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

Low fountaining continues in the eastern lake, in Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. Several small islands of solidified lava are present in the lake. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

On February 14, 2023, low fountaining was also present at the central vent in Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea. Lava upwelling at this vent then flowed eastward through a channel towards the larger, eastern lake. USGS photo by M. Patrick.