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During the morning of September 11, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists conducted an overflight of the new eruption within Kīlauea summit caldera. The eruption is occurring in the east portion of Halemaʻumaʻu crater and on the downdropped block to the east, which formed during the 2018 summit collapse.

HVO geologists observed the new eruption within Kīlauea summit caldera during an eruption-monitoring overflight the morning of September 11, 2023. Multiple minor fountains remain active in the eastern portion of Halema‘uma‘u crater floor and on the downdropped block within Kīlauea's summit caldera.

HVO geologists observed the new eruption within Kīlauea summit caldera during an eruption-monitoring overflight the morning of September 11, 2023. Multiple minor fountains remain active in the eastern portion of Halema‘uma‘u crater floor and on the downdropped block within Kīlauea's summit caldera.

HVO geologists observed the new eruption within Kīlauea summit caldera during an eruption-monitoring overflight the morning of September 11, 2023. Multiple minor fountains remain active in the eastern portion of Halema‘uma‘u crater floor and on the downdropped block within Kīlauea's summit caldera.

HVO geologists observed the new eruption within Kīlauea summit caldera during an eruption-monitoring overflight the morning of September 11, 2023. Multiple minor fountains remain active in the eastern portion of Halema‘uma‘u crater floor and on the downdropped block within Kīlauea's summit caldera.

HVO geologists observed the new eruption within Kīlauea summit caldera during an eruption-monitoring overflight the morning of September 11, 2023. Multiple minor fountains remain active in the eastern portion of Halema‘uma‘u crater floor and on the downdropped block within Kīlauea's summit caldera.

HVO geologists observed the new eruption within Kīlauea summit caldera during an eruption-monitoring overflight the morning of September 11, 2023. Multiple minor fountains remain active in the eastern portion of Halema‘uma‘u crater floor and on the downdropped block within Kīlauea's summit caldera.

HVO geologists observed the new eruption within Kīlauea summit caldera during an eruption-monitoring overflight the morning of September 11, 2023. Multiple minor fountains remain active in the eastern portion of Halema‘uma‘u crater floor and on the downdropped block within Kīlauea's summit caldera.

HVO geologists observed the new eruption within Kīlauea summit caldera during an eruption-monitoring overflight the morning of September 11, 2023. Multiple minor fountains remain active in the eastern portion of Halema‘uma‘u crater floor and on the downdropped block within Kīlauea's summit caldera.

HVO geologists observed the new eruption within Kīlauea summit caldera during an eruption-monitoring overflight the morning of September 11, 2023. Multiple minor fountains remain active in the eastern portion of Halema‘uma‘u crater floor and on the downdropped block within Kīlauea's summit caldera.

HVO geologists observed the new eruption within Kīlauea summit caldera during an eruption-monitoring overflight the morning of September 11, 2023. Multiple minor fountains remain active in the eastern portion of Halema‘uma‘u crater floor and on the downdropped block within Kīlauea's summit caldera.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist are in the field today, September 11, monitoring the new eruption within Kīlauea summit caldera that began yesterday afternoon. From the scarp of the downdropped block on its north side, the active fissures on the downdropped block and Halemaʻumaʻu crater are visible.

On September 11, 2023, HVO geologists deployed a new webcam to monitor the ongoing eruption at the summit of  Kīlauea. The S2cam is a temporary webcam showing Kīlauea caldera downdropped block and Halemaʻumaʻu crater; the view is from the north rim of the downdropped block and looking west. USGS image by M. Patrick. 

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists collected samples that erupted on September 10th, 2023, during the ongoing eruption within Kīlauea summit caldera. The samples were collected from within strategically placed buckets along the rim of the crater. The samples will be analyzed later for information about the lava erupted during the eruption.

University of Hawai‘i at Hilo geology major Paige Johnson compresses a lava sample, collected by Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists during the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption, into a solid pellet that can be analyzed. UH-Hilo photo by S. Lundblad.

A UH-Hilo undergraduate research assistant Paige Johnson places a sample of the Kīlauea summit eruption into the shatterbox, which will turn the sample into a homogenous powder. UH-Hilo photo by S. Lundblad.

After preparing the lava samples, the pressed pellets are loaded into the energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) instrument for analysis (box on the left in the image). The computer screen shows the spectral spikes for certain elements measured in the sample during the analysis.

A sample of the recent Kīlauea summit eruption that was collected and quenched (cooled) with water is dried later that day in a warm oven at the University of Hawai‘i. UH-Hilo photo by S. Lundblad. 

A dried sample of the recent Kīlauea summit eruption is ready for processing at the University of Hawai‘i. UH-Hilo photo by S. Lundblad. 

A photo showing what completed pellet look like, with a sharpie pen for scale. The rough and uneven lava sample has been transformed into a pellet that is dense, fine-grained, and has a flat surface that can be analyzed. USGS photo by S. Lundblad. 

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists collected tephra samples erupted from Kīlauea summit on September 10th, 2023. The samples were collected from the rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater and range in size up to 1 inch (2.54 cm). This tephra was visibly less rounded than the existing tephra along the rim from the June 2023 eruption.