Images

Despite a significant increase in small earthquakes at the summit and upper East Rift Zone in recent days, activity at the surface was quiet On May 1, 2024. This photo shows the floor of Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea, which last erupted in September 2023.

The V1cam webcam, which provides the livestream at the summit of Kīlauea, is a pan-tilt-zoom model that allows HVO staff to adjust the view remotely based on changes in activity in the caldera. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

HVO staff performed some routine maintenance on the V1cam at Kīlauea summit. This webcam provides the livestream that operates 24/7, and has helped track recent eruptions in the summit caldera. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

A USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory IT specialist at a data center is pictured imagining the benefits of programming code to the observation of volcanic phenomena. USGS image. 

HVO scientist setting up temporary GPS equipment south of Kaluapele (the summit caldera of Kīlauea volcano).The long profile of Mauna Loa volcano is prominent in the background. USGS image by D.A. Phillips.

Participants of the May 2024 Kīlauea petrology workshop, hosted in Hilo, visited the Kaumana Caves State Park during one of their field trips. The lava tubes at Kaumana Caves State Park formed during the 1880-1881 eruption of Mauna Loa, which occurred on the Northeast Rift Zone.

Participants of the May 2024 Kīlauea petrology workshop observe an outcrop of tephra near Kapoho cone, located on the lower East Rift Zone of Kīlauea. Tephra is a word that describes volcanic particles that are ejected out of an erupting vent, which travel through the air before being deposited on the ground. USGS photo by A. Lerner. 

Participants of the May 2024 Kīlauea petrology workshop discuss the local geology near lava flows that erupted during the lower East Rift Zone eruption of Kīlauea in 2018. USGS photo by A. Lerner. 

This map shows recent deformation at Kīlauea volcano, from April 5 to April 27, 2024, as recorded by the German Aerospace Center’s (DLR) TerraSAR-X satellite.  This interferogram spans the beginning of the recent swarm under the upper East Rift Zone.  White circles mark the locations of earthquakes during that time, as recorded by HVO seismometers.

Aerial view of cone that the new MLDcam is located on, on the Southwest Rift Zone of Mauna Loa. An HVO geologist and field engineer installing the camera are silhouetted on top of the cone against the cloudy backdrop.

HVO staff also installed a new pan-tilt-zoom webcam (MDLcam) on the Southwest Rift Zone of Mauna Loa on April 24, 2024.

An HVO physical science technician upgrades the M3cam webcam on the Southwest Rift Zone of Mauna Loa. This webcam points northeast (uprift), towards the summit of Mauna Loa, to cover portions of the upper Southwest Rift Zone.

Heavy rains in recent weeks resulted in water accumulating in the case of the KWcam, a webcam monitoring the summit of Kīlauea. HVO staff visited the site today to replace desiccant and dry out the enclosure. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

An HVO geologist services the KWcam webcam, at the summit of Kīlauea. USGS photo by K. Anderson.

Weak, wispy gas plumes rise vertically in the slack winds from the central portion of Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea. Nothing unusual was observed today at the summit. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

Distribution of permanent seismic stations and previously deployed seismic nodes in southern half of the Island of Hawai‘i. Shaded regions display the total footprint that nodal deployments this spring and summer will occupy. 

A screenshot of HVO’s new ArcGIS Online web map for eruption map data, displaying FlowPolys features that depict lava flow boundaries from the 2022 Mauna Loa eruption.

This is the thumbnail image for a two-minute video summarizing changes to the summit Kīlauea volcano since the 2018 caldera collapse. In the year after the 2018 collapse, a water lake began to rise from the bottom. It evaporated during about 90 minutes when an eruption started in Halemaʻumaʻu crater on the night of December 20, 2020.

Ed Brown, center, receiving an Information, Management and Technology award from the Office of the Associate Chief Information Officer for his leadership and commitment to the USGS. The award was presented by Alan Wiser (left) and Tim Quinn (right) at the Information Technology Exchange Meeting in April 2024. 

A scientist takes gravity measurements on the sloping floor of Kaluapele. This part of the caldera floor, referred to as the "down-dropped block" moved downwards during the Kīlauea summit collapse of 2018.

Gravity measurements detect subsurface mass change—for example, magma accumulation or removal beneath the surface. If magma is filling or draining void spaces, it may not be signaled by ground deformation or earthquake activity, but it will be signaled by gravity because of the mass change.