Images

Kīlauea's summit eruption within Halema‘uma‘u did not initially respond to the volcano's East Rift Zone activity (collapse of the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater floor and magmatic intrusion into the rift zone) on April 30. But on May 2, the lava lake level began to drop in concert with summit deflation, suggesting that magma was moving from the summit into the East Rift Zone.

The start of fissure 3 during Kīlauea's lower East Rift Zone eruption. Lava erupting to the surface cut across Kaupili Street around 7:00 a.m. on May 4, 2018.

This map shows the locations, mapped by USGS-HVO scientists, of the three eruptive fissures in the order that they occurred in the Leilani Estates Subdivision as of 8:00 a.m. HST today (May 4). The fissures are jetting copious amounts of sulfur dioxide gas, which should be avoided.

Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō on May 3, 2018, as viewed from the helicopter overflight. The crater floor is collapsed, and a thin plume escapes from the gaping crater. The west flank cracked on April 30th around 2:30 pm HST, and minor amounts of lava oozed out of the crack (line of steaming features) just before the plumbing system catastrophically failed.

When Kīlauea Volcano's lower East Rift Zone first erupted on May 3, 2018, lava temperatures were about 2000 degrees Fahrenheit. As the eruption progressed, with fresher magma feeding the fissures, the erupted lava became progressively hotter, resulting in more fluid and far-reaching lava flows (May 21 shown here).

Over 500 earthquakes were located by the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) between noon Friday and noon Saturday, May 4-5, 2018. A magnitude-6.9 earthquake at 12:32 p.m. HST on Friday was preceded by two foreshocks with magnitudes of 5.4 and 4.4 at 11:32 a.m.

As of this afternoon (May 1), the eruption at the summit of Kīlauea has apparently not been affected by the collapse of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō or intrusion of magma along the volcano's Lower East Rift Zone.

Just before 10:00 a.m. today (Monday, April 30), a break in the weather allowed HVO's webcam to capture this image of the lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea. Following multiple overflows of the lava lake last week, the lake level dropped over the weekend in concert with the switch to summit deflation.

Night view of Kīlauea Volcano’s summit lava lake from April 24, 2018, while lava from the lake overflow was spreading westward (to the right in the picture) from the Overlook Vent. USGS photo from the Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park Jaggar Overlook

Vigorous overflows from Kīlauea's summit lava lake covered a large portion of the floor of Halema‘uma‘u this morning. In this video, the view starts from the north and heads south, showing the north and east sides of Halema‘uma‘u crater.

Night view of Kīlauea Volcano's summit lava lake from April 24, 2018, while lava from the lake overflow was spreading westward (to the right in the picture) from the Overlook Vent. USGS photo from the Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park Jaggar Overlook by M. Patrick.

Aerial view of the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater (approximately 220 m or 720 ft wide) from April 23, 2018, following weeks of steady inflation and uplift of crater floor. View is to the southeast with lava flows of the Episode 61g flow field in the distance behind Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō .

Beginning around midnight on Saturday, April 21, Kīlauea Volcano's summit lava lake rose high enough that lava briefly spilled onto the floor of Halema‘uma‘u. Since then, additional overflows occurred in four pulses on April 22-23. The largest one occurred during the fourth pulse, which started at 6:30 a.m.

Overflows from the perched lava pond within west pit, a small crater adjacent to the main Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater on Kīlauea Volcano's East Rift Zone, continue to build up the levees around the pond. The rising level of the perched lava pond during the past month is a sign of the increasing pressure within the magma system beneath Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō.

Over the past month, HVO monitoring instruments have recorded a sharp inflationary trend at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō (see https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/monitoring_deformation.html, scroll to bottom of page).

Video: Clear skies and sunshine provided a spectacular view of Kīlauea Volcano's summit lava lake this morning. Spattering on the north side and center of the lake surface—a departure from its more common location on the southeast side of the lake—occasionally happens when the surface flow direction reverses.

Dr. Nial Peters from the University of Cambridge sets up the prototype radar on the rim of Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea in January 2018. Microwave pulses are transmitted from one dish towards the lava lake surface. Some of the microwave energy is reflected back and is received by the other dish.

For the 10th anniversary of Kīlauea Volcano's summit eruption, USGS–Hawaiian Volcano Observatory research geologist Matt Patrick talks about his work monitoring the lava lake in the Halema'uma'u Crater. Dr.

Today marks the 10th anniversary of the eruption within Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. When the vent first opened on March 19, 2008, it formed a small pit about 115 feet (35 m) wide. Over the past decade, that pit (informally called the "Overlook crater") has grown into a gaping hole about 919 feet by 656 feet (280 x 200 m) in size.

Just before noon today, HVO's summit webcam (KIcam) captured this striking image of Kīlauea Volcano's ongoing summit eruption. A small rockfall on the north side of the Overlook crater triggered a small explosion in the lava lake, sending a dark-colored ash plume skyward.

On November 5, 1967, a line of vigorous lava fountains erupted on the floor of Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea. Lava soon covered the entire crater floor as volcanic gases billowed skyward (aerial view). Near the center, a pool of molten lava repeatedly overflowed a levee of crusted lava, spilling flows onto the lava-covered crater floor (inset).