Images

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.

This telephoto image, taken from near the Uēkahuna overlook within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, shows the vent in the east wall of the downdropped block erupting on September 10, 2023. As of September 11, 2023, morning, the vent was no longer active and only incandescent. USGS image by M. Patrick.

This telephoto image, taken from near the Uēkahuna overlook within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, shows the vent in the east wall of the downdropped block erupting on September 10, 2023. As of September 11, 2023, morning, the vent was no longer active and only incandescent. USGS image by M. Patrick.

Vigorous fountaining within Kīlauea caldera was visible from near the Uēkahuna overlook during the afternoon of September 10, 2023. This image shows fissure vents that opened parallel to the boundary of Halemaʻumaʻu crater near where it intersected the downdropped block. USGS image by M. Patrick.

A line of vigorously fountaining vents was visible on the floor of the downdropped block within Kīlauea caldera during the afternoon of September 10, 2023. This image, taken from near the Uēkahuna overlook, shows the activity extending east of Halemaʻumaʻu crater and onto the downdropped block.

This image, taken from near the Uēkahuna overlook, shows the main and westernmost fountain within Kīlauea caldera erupting the afternoon of September 10, 2023. This vent is no longer active, and was located on the eastern portion of Halemaʻumaʻu crater floor.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory gas scientists used a FTIR spectrometer on the rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater during the evening of September 10, 2023. The FTIR measures the composition of the gases being emitted during Kīlauea Volcano's new summit eruption by measuring how the plume absorbs infrared energy.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory gas scientists observed and measured the plume of volcanic gas being erupted from Kīlauea's summit on during the afternoon of September 11, 2023.

Kīlauea started erupting on September 10, 2023, at approximately 3:15 p.m. H.S.T., from fissures which extended from the eastern margin of Halema‘uma‘u crater and onto the down-dropped block to the east within Kīlauea’s summit caldera.

Vigorous fountaining within Kīlauea caldera was visible from near the Uēkahuna overlook on the evening of September 10, 2023. This image shows fissure vents that opened parallel to the boundary of Halemaʻumaʻu crater near where it intersected the downdropped block. USGS image by M. Patrick.

An eruption at the summit of Kīlauea volcano began on September 10, 2023. The main fountain, which HVO geologists estimate is approximately 50 meters tall, is on the eastern margin of Halemaʻumaʻu crater. As of approximately 4:30 p.m.

From the Uēkahuna overlook, the new eruption at the summit of Kīlauea is visible. The farthest east fissure is near the to margin of downdropped block that formed during the 2018 summit collapse. The base of the main fissure, which is farthest west (right on the image), is approximately 70 meters wide.

The new eruption at the summit of Kīlauea volcano on September 10, 2023. After about an hour of increased seismic activity and uplift, HVO scientists observed the start of the eruption at approximately 3:15 p.m. HST.

The new eruption at the summit of Kīlauea volcano on September 10, 2023. After about an hour of increased seismic activity and uplift, HVO scientists observed the start of the eruption at approximately 3:15 p.m. HST.

The new eruption at the summit of Kīlauea volcano on September 10, 2023. After about an hour of increased seismic activity and uplift, HVO scientists observed the start of the eruption at approximately 3:15 p.m. HST.

The new eruption at the summit of Kīlauea volcano on September 10, 2023. After about an hour of increased seismic activity and uplift, HVO scientists observed the start of the eruption at approximately 3:15 p.m. HST.