Images

At the coast, the lava flow in the Ahalanui area remains less than 0.1 miles from the Pohoiki boat ramp (left of center in this photo) in Isaac Hale Park. The active ocean entry is a few hundred yards east (right) of this photograph.

A telephoto view of the east lake margin showed that the spattering was focused in small embayments created by promontories of cooled, congealed lava jutting from the vent wall.

At times, spattering along the east lake margin reached heights of 6-9 m (20-30 ft), as shown in this telephoto image.

View of the lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u Crater from the FTIR spectrometer monitoring location. At Hawaiian volcanoes, magma ascends from the mantle more than 60 km (about 40 mi) below the surface, to a reservoir less than 2 km (about 1.2 mi) deep. As the pressure decreases, the gases dissolved in the magma bubble out and escape.

An FTIR instrument is set up on the rim of Halema‘uma‘u Crater to measure volcanic gases from the summit lava lake. The open-path Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer continuously measures the gases in a volcanic plume, measuring the relative abundance of each.

The 61g flow breakout that started on February 10 on Pulama Pali was still active today. The flow front (shown here) is approximately 2.3 km (1.4 mi) from the base of the pali and 1.2 km (0.75 mi) from the ocean. The flow front is on the eastern side of the 61g flow field, and is outside the National Park boundary.

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory is located in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park adjacent to Jaggar Museum.

NASA ER-2 aircrafts have played an important role in Earth science research because of their ability to fly into the lower stratosphere at subsonic speeds, enabling virtual satellite simulation missions.

VIDEO: Kīlauea Volcano's Kamokuna ocean entry. Today, the "firehose flow" could be clearly seen from the public lava viewing area, 800 meters (about one-half mile) east of the ocean entry, in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

Close up view of the Pele's hair and Limu o Pele that blankets the sea cliff around the Kamokuna ocean entry. The coverage is especially thick in the areas downwind of the ocean entry which may make it difficult to see all areas of extended cracks.

Photo looking toward the public viewing area (arrow) from near the ocean entry.

Photo of the upper portion of the "firehose" taken with a telephoto lens as the lava exits the 61g flow lava tube. There is no sign of a lava delta rebuilding as the lava continues to spill into the ocean.

The "firehose flow" at Kīlauea Volcano's Kamokuna ocean entry was clearly visible from the public lava viewing area established by Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. The viewing area is 800 meters (about one-half mile) from the ocean entry, but affords excellent views of the lava flow.

A telephoto lens captures a closer view of the Kamokuna "firehose flow."

The gentle slope of Mauna Loa as seen from the flanks of Mauna Kea to the north. Younger lava flows appear dark on the volcano's flank, and clouds rest in the eastern saddle between the two volcanoes.

VIDEO: The section of sea cliff above the ocean entry collapsed today at about 12:55 p.m. The sea cliff had become increasingly unstable as a large crack 5-10 m (16-33 ft) inland of the ocean entry had more than doubled in width, from 30 cm (1 ft) to 70 cm (2.5 ft), over the past several days.

HVO geologists hiked to the Kamokuna ocean entry today to assess the status of the sea cliff. When they arrived, the "firehose" flow was no longer visible. However, spatter (bits of molten lava) and black sand flying through the steam plume indicated that lava was still flowing into the ocean and interacting explosively with seawater.

Within minutes of HVO geologists reaching the ocean entry site, the sea cliff seaward of the hot crack (see Jan. 30 images) collapsed with no warning; fortunately, they were far enough away to not be in harm's way. The top photo was snapped just before the collapse occurred. The bottom image shows the remaining sea cliff after the collapse.

The entire section of the sea cliff that was seaward of the hot crack collapsed, except for a small block of rock (left) at the eastern end of the crack; this piece of the sea cliff, estimated to be 30 m long and 5 m wide (98 x 16 ft), remains highly unstable and could collapse with no warning.

The hot crack near the sea cliff, in the immediate area of the ocean entry, has widened significantly over the past four days. On Saturday, January 28, the crack was 30 cm wide (1 foot). Today, HVO geologists in protective gear briefly entered the area and measured the crack as being 75 cm (2.5 feet).

From the lava viewing area established by Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, you can witness Kīlauea Volcano's ocean entry from a safe distance. With binoculars or a telephoto camera lens, spectacular views and photos are possible (as seen here)—without risking your life by entering the closed area.