New USGS Data Releases:

Colorimeter data for the summit water lake at Kīlauea Volcano, Island of Hawaiʻi, 2020 

Patrick and others (2023): View the data here

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In 2018, a large effusive eruption on the lower flank of Kīlauea Volcano was associated with collapse and subsidence of the summit caldera floor (Neal and others, 2019).  The bottom of Halemaʻumaʻu, a crater nested within the summit caldera, subsided by more than 500 m.  In July 2019, water was observed ponding on the deepest part of the Halemaʻumaʻu crater floor and the water rose and enlarged in area steadily over the next 16 months (Ingebritsen and others, 2020; Nadeau and others, 2020; Patrick and others, 2021).  During the course of the rise, the lake surface appearance was highly dynamic and segmented, showing regions of variable color that changed from day to day (Nadeau and others, 2020).  In June 2020 staff at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory began regularly collecting colorimeter data (quantitative measurements of color) of the water surface as part of routine monitoring, which included water level measurements (Patrick and others, 2021), photo documentation, and direct water sampling (Peek and others, 2023), augmenting existing monitoring by geophysical instruments, webcams and thermal cameras (Patrick and others, 2022).  Data collection on the water lake ended in late December 2020, when a new eruption in Halemaʻumaʻu filled the crater floor with lava, rapidly boiling off the lake (Cahalan and others, 2023). 

Sample details and near-real-time ED-XRF, grain size, and grain shape data collected during the November – December 2022 eruption of Mauna Loa volcano, Island of Hawaiʻi

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Downs and others (2023): View the data here

At 11:21 p.m. (Hawaii Standard Time [HST]) on November 27, 2022, Mauna Loa volcano on the Island of Hawaiʻi started erupting from fissures at its summit caldera, Mokuʻāweoweo. This was followed shortly afterwards by the opening of a segment of fissures in the direction of the Southwest Rift Zone. These were mostly within the structural boundary of the caldera, so their location is denoted as ‘South Caldera,’ with the exception of a short fissure that extended into the uppermost Southwest Rift Zone. By November 28, activity had shifted to four fissures that opened in the upper Northeast Rift Zone (Lynn and others, 2023). By December 2, eruptive activity was focused from Northeast Rift Zone fissure 3A supplying lava flows that extended approximately 19 kilometers (12 miles) down slope to the north by the end of the eruption (Dietterich and others, 2023). Eruptive activity abruptly waned on December 8, with all activity ceasing by December 10.



The U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) collected a total of 87 samples, of which 73 samples were collected during the eruption as water-quenched (for molten material) or air-quenched samples from fissures, channels, lava flow margins, and lava flow fronts. Fifty-four of the 73 samples collected during the eruption were analyzed by energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) spectrometry for major-oxide and trace-element abundances at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, as a part of near-real-time petrologic and geochemical monitoring (Gansecki and others, 2019). Additionally, 15 tephra samples collected during the eruption were run on a Microtrac CAMSIZER® P4 instrument for grain size and shape data in the HVO tephra lab. Most samples were analyzed by these methods within 24–48 hours of collection. Sample collection and near-real-time analyses are a part of HVO’s monitoring and response efforts.

Description, dates, and locations of lava samples collected during the Pu‘u‘ō‘ō (1983–2018) and summit lava lake (2008–2018) eruptions of Kīlauea Volcano, Island of Hawai‘i

Lee and others (2023): View the data here

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This data release contains information about the lava samples that were collected during two volcanic eruptions of Kīlauea Volcano, Island of Hawai‘i. The first eruption occurred from 1983 to 2018 at Pu‘u‘ō‘ō and the second occurred contemporaneously from 2008 to 2018 at the summit lava lake. The data release provides a comprehensive list of lava samples that are currently stored in the physical sample archive of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO). The information in the data release includes details about the sampling sites and how the samples were collected. Most of the samples were collected to study the pre-eruptive chemistry and petrology of the magma that fed the eruption and to track its changes over time. Therefore, most samples are water or air quenched-lavas that were collected as close to the eruptive vent as possible. It is important to note that this data release does not include any analytical results of chemical analyses. It only provides metadata about the sampling events and the samples themselves.

Core logs from three shallow holes drilled in summer 2000 into the flanks of Mauna Loa volcano, Island of Hawai‘i, Hawaii

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Mulliken and others (2023): View the data here

This data release includes documentation of rock core recovered from three shallow holes drilled during the summer of 2000 into the flanks of Mauna Loa volcano, on the Island of Hawai‘i, Hawaii. Holes were drilled to accommodate installation of U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory volcano-monitoring instruments in the year 2000. Rock core recovered from the holes, which extend 112–119 m (367–392 ft) below the ground surface, were logged to characterize the sub-surface local geology. Core are described by depth below the ground surface, lithologic unit type and class, phenocryst type and abundance, groundmass type, vesicle abundance, morphology, and distribution, alteration, fracturing, and unit contacts.