Images

Cracking and slumping of the Halema‘uma‘u crater walls are clearly evident in this aerial view captured during HVO's overflight of Kīlauea's summit this morning. Steam plumes have been rising from within the crater, as well as from cracks adjacent to the crater.

Another aerial view showing prominent cracking around Halema‘uma‘u from the ongoing subsidence at Kīlauea's summit. The steaming cracks in the background have been observed for several days.

Fissure 8 and lava channel in the lower East Rift Zone of Kīlauea Volcano during this afternoon's overflight, with no apparent slowing in the eruption rate. The lava channel remained incandescent all the way around Kapoho Crater before entering the ocean.

Map as of 10:00 a.m. HST, June 9, 2018. The fissure 8 flow has created a lava delta approximately 200 acres in size, filling Kapoho Bay and shallow reefs along the nearby coastline.

Video of the lava fountain and flow (left) from fissure 8. Only the tallest waves of the channelized flow can be seen in the video.

Video of the lava ocean entry during today's late afternoon overflight of the lower East Rift Zone. The main steam plume marks location where the primary lava channel enters the ocean.

Dramatic changes at Halema‘uma‘u could be seen through gases rising from the crater during HVO's overflight of the summit this morning at 10 a.m. HST. The view here looks to the southwest, with the former overlook parking lot barely visible to the left of the gas plume.

HVO's early morning helicopter overflight of Kīlauea's lower East Rift Zone showed that lava continues to flow into the ocean in the vicinity of Kapoho Bay and Vacationland.

Outgassing from Halema‘uma‘u produced twin pillars that rose in the still morning air and merged into a towering cap above the summit of Kīlauea just after sunrise.

The Kapoho ocean entry (as of 6:30 a.m.

Around 3:00 a.m. HST today (June 8), lava fountains erupting from fissure 8 on Kīlauea Volcano's Lower East Rift Zone were reaching heights of 180–220 feet.

Map as of 12:00 p.m. (noon) HST, June 8, 2018. Given the dynamic nature of Kīlauea's lower East Rift Zone eruption, with changing vent locations, fissures starting and stopping, and varying rates of lava effusion, map details shown here are accurate as of the date/time noted. Shaded purple areas indicate lava flows erupted in 1840, 1955, 1960, and 2014-2015.

This thermal map shows the Fissure 8 lava flow along the coast, as of 12:30 pm on Friday, June 8. The flow from Fissure 8 remains active, with the flow front entering the ocean at Kapoho. The thick gas plume from the ocean entry obscured sections of the flow, producing several artifacts in the thermal map.

Lava entering the ocean in the vicinity of Kapoho Bay is forming a lava delta, as seen from the air during this morning's overflight at about 7:00 a.m. HST.

 Fissure 8 lava fountain heights fluctuated between about 40 m (130 ft) and 70 m (230 ft) during this morning's overflight at about 6:30 a.m. HST.

View of the fissure 8 lava fountain and lava channel that travels to the ocean, a distance of about 12.5 km (7.8 mi). Photo taken during this morning's overflight at about 6:30 a.m. HST.

An even larger crack, shown here, arcs across the parking lot and bounds one of the large blocks mentioned above.

Crack on Crater Rim Drive just east of the parking lot, with the National Park sign indicating "Halema‘uma‘u" at right. This crack shows 42 cm (16.5 in) of right lateral offset—as measured by fitting the center stripe on the road back together)—and was about 25 cm (10 in) wide.

Lava enters the ocean in the vicinity of Vacationland at 7 a.m. HST. The ocean entry produces a white plume called "laze," which drifts downwind. Laze is composed of steam, hydrochloric acid and tiny volcanic glass particles, which can irritate the lungs, eyes and skin.

With careful consideration and planning to avoid ongoing volcanic hazards as much as possible, an HVO scientist who has been studying the behavior of Kīlauea's summit for decades, briefly visited the parking area for the former Halema‘uma‘u overlook (closed since 2008) on June 5 to make direct observations of and gather data from the effects of recent explosions wit

The median between two areas of the parking lot has been warped and broken by cracks. Ash accumulation in the parking area was generally not more than 4 cm (1.5 in) thick.