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Images and Chronology

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1 July 2009

East rift zone eruption site from vent to ocean entry

Left. View of the east rift zone eruption site from vent to ocean entry. The TEB vent, where the lava erupts and enters the lava tube system, is the large fume source in foreground. The prominent plumes in the background are the ocean entries, with the larger Waikupanaha entry to the left of the smaller Kupapa`u entry. The smaller fume sources between the vent and the ocean entries define the trace of the lava tube system carrying lava across the upper flow field. Right. For the last several weeks, lava flows have been advancing along the eastern side of the active flow field-that part of the flow field created since July 21, 2007, when the current vent first erupted. These flows, seen here as the silvery flows in the center of the photo, remain active near the base of the pali on the eastern edge of the Royal Gardens subdivision. The unoccupied house seen in the photo remains safe for now.

Kīlauea's summit in perspective to smaller view of Halema`uma`u crater

Left. Only minor activity, such as that shown here, was active on Thursday morning (July 1), but Civil Defense officials reported that the amount of activity had increased substantially by nightfall. Right. The active vent at Kīlauea's summit looks relatively small from this perspective, occupying only small portion of the southeast side of Halema`uma`u crater.

Left. The visitor overlook-the brown fence at the top of the cliff above the vent opening-offers a sense of scale to the actual size of the summit vent. Right. A wispy plume from the summit vent, a consequence of the collapses that occurred on Tuesday, June 30, allowed aerial views into the vent. The Halema`uma`u crater wall is on the left side of the photo with the crater floor to the right. A talus slope is visible extending down from the base of the cliff on the left (southeast) side of the vent to a deeper opening on the right (northwest) side of the vent. Rubble is barely visible within this deeper opening where the lava surface had been visible prior to the collapses.

Before and after collapses of Halema`uma`u crater

Left. A comparison of photos from before and after the collapses, taken by a time-lapse camera positioned on the NE rim of Halema`uma`u Crater, show considerable expansion of the vent opening. The black line in this image shows the shape of the vent rim a few days before the collapses. The vent is now 123 meters (404 feet) wide from this perspective, having increased by 23 meters (75 feet). Right. A comparison of photos from before and after the collapses, taken by a time-lapse camera in the HVO observation tower, also show considerable expansion of the vent opening. Again, the black line in this image shows the shape of the vent rim a few days before the collapses. The vent is now 132 meters (430 feet) wide from this view, representing an increase of 9 meters (30 feet).

30 June 2009

Widening of Halema`uma`u vent from a series of collapses

Left. On Tuesday afternoon, June 30, a series of collapses within the vent in Halema`uma`u led to considerable widening of the vent and choked the vent with rubble. This photo is of the ash cloud from the initial collapse at 1:39 pm. Right. A time-lapse camera about 300 meters (yards) northeast of the vent captured this ash cloud, from a collapse at 2:20 pm, just at it emerged from the vent.

'Nightshot' mode Quicktime movie of lava surface within the cavity of Halema`uma`u

This Quicktime movie shows the lava surface within the cavity at Halema`uma`u. Keeping an eye on the lower left portion of the screen, one can see a large rock impacting the lava surface. This impact appears to trigger degassing and overturning that migrates across a large portion of the lava surface.

29 June 2009

Awesome early morning view of glow in Halema`uma`u crater

Left. Early morning view of glow from the vent in Halema`uma`u crater. Right. Closer view of glow from the vent in Halema`uma`u crater.

Breakouts in the Royal Gardens subdivision

Left. Over the past several days, breakouts in the Royal Gardens subdivision have continued to expand the east margin of the flow field. The flows are slowly covering what is left of several small kipuka. Right. Another view of the active flows as they continue toward the coastal plain. The shiny flow through the center of the kipuka is no longer active, but the three shiny lobes to the right continue to expand the margin.

26 June 2009

Silvery patches dot the flow field

Left. Dozens of small breakouts, seen here as the silvery patches, dot the flow field near the top of the Royal Gardens subdivision. Tuberose Street and Pakalana Street, which would cross the photo from top to bottom, are buried somewhere beneath these flows. Right. Active flows narrowly missed this abandoned house just off of Queen Avenue between Plumeria Street and Paradise Street.

Left. View looking up at the TEB flow field where it crossed through the center of the Royal Gardens subdivision on Pūlama pali. Right. This abandoned house, just off of Paradise Street between Royal Avenue and King Avenue, was burned by lava-sparked fires months ago but buried by new flows in the past few weeks. All that remains are the water tanks, completely surrounded by lava.

Left. Fragments of pāhoehoe lava, tossed by helicopter rotor wash, get blown into this skylight near the top of Royal Gardens subdivision. Right. Lava continues to pour into the ocean at the Waikupanaha and Kupapa'u ocean entries.

Left. Lava samples, for chemical analyses, are collected nearly each week using little more than a rock hammer and a bucket of water. Right. The molten lava, when collected, is about 1150 oC (2100 oF) and instantly boils air-temperature water.

25 June 2009

'Nightshot' mode Quicktime movie of Halema`uma`u crusted lava surface and occasional spatter

This Quicktime movie shows activity of the lava surface deep within the Halema`uma`u cavity. The crusted lava surface is moving slowly from northeast to southwest, with occasional bursts of spatter from the margins and cracks. The first half of the movie is shown at actual speed, with the second half shown at x10 speed to convey the sense of movement and illustrate the oscillations of the lava surface.

23 June 2009

Tephra collectors collect typical daily sample and depict a cute smiley face

Left. A typical daily sample from one of the tephra collectors near the Halema`uma`u Overlook vent. The samples collected are often small in amount, and dominantly ash sized (< 2 mm, or < 0.08 in). The collector id, time, and date collected are noted on the sample bag. Right. Several pieces of tephra were picked from the sample in the previous picture to show an example of the material found in the collectors. When the lava level in the vent is high, there are usually spheres, tears, and hair in the sample. The white pieces in the picture are lithic fragments, which are also found in the collectors and come from the walls of the vent opening. Since the tephra is so small, this image was taken with a microscope camera. The tick marks on the top are 1 mm (0.04 in) apart.

22 June 2009

'Nightshot' mode Quicktime movie of Halema`uma`u crusted and sluggish lava surface

This Quicktime movie shows the lava surface within the Halema`uma`u cavity, again using 'nightshot' mode to see through the fume. The lava surface this evening was considerably more crusted and sluggish than on previous nights, and had risen a minor amount compared to much of last week. The lava migrates from the top of screen towards the bottom, with occasional bubble bursts disrupting the surface.

19 June 2009

TEB lava tube breakout and finger of pāhoehoe invades Royal Gardens

Left. A breakout, active over the past several weeks, from the TEB lava tube overruns more of Royal Gardens subdivision, burning vegetation and burying abandoned structures. In the distant upper left is the TEB vent, with a line of fuming sources tracing the path of the lava tube. In the lower right is the intersection of Queen Avenue and Orchid Street. Right. A finger of pāhoehoe invades and buries an abandoned structure in Royal Gardens, near Queen Avenue, as other fingers ignite nearby vegetation.

Left. An HVO geologist takes a sample of lava from an active pāhoehoe lobe in the upper reaches of Royal Gardens subdivision. Right. The two ocean entries—Waikupanaha and Kupapa`u—remained active this week. This photo shows several small streams of lava entering the water at the front of the Waikupanaha delta.

17 June 2009

'Nightshot' mode Quicktime movie of Halema`uma`u rolling lava surface

This Quicktime movie shows the roiling lava surface within the cavity in Halema`uma`u. The video was captured in 'nightshot' mode in order to see through the fume, which obscured viewing by the naked eye. Vigorous upwelling occurs in the northeast (upper right) corner of the opening, with the southwest corner consisting of passively sloshing, and partly crusted lava.

13 June 2009

Quicktime movie of Halema`uma`u lava lake draining event

This Quicktime movie shows a draining event in the Halema`uma`u lava lake. Filling and draining cycles have been observed before here, but this video is one of the clearest examples thus far. The video is shown at actual speed, with draining taking about 40 seconds. Note the draining is highly unsteady, and proceeds in a step-wise fashion. These cycles of filling and draining are due to the episodic release of accumulated gas in the conduit.

11 June 2009

Active terminus in Royal Gardens and large plumes from Waikupanaha and Kupapa`u ocean entries

Left. Geologist replaces an existing time-lapse camera after several recent camera failures. The camera looks at the current ocean entries of Waikupanaha (left) and Kupapa`u (right). Right. The terminus of an active portion of a breakout from the May 29 DI event. The lava is burning trees and shrubs as it flows through the Royal Gardens subdivision.

Left. The Waikupanaha and Kupapa`u ocean entries continue to produce moderate to large steam plumes. The county viewing area is visible between the groups of trees in the lower right corner of the photograph. Right. A close-up of several lava streams entering the ocean at Waikupanaha.

8 June 2009

Picturesque view of Halema`uma`u crater

Good weather allows for a clear view of Halema`uma`u crater and the eruption plume.

4 June 2009

Another rare look into Halema`uma`u crater

This Quicktime video shows another rare view of the active lava surface deep within the cavity in Halema`uma`u crater. The lava is approximately 100 m below the floor of Halema`uma`u. The lava surface is disrupted by waves, splashes, bubbling and upwelling, with overall lava movement from the upper right to the lower left.

Small breakout near Kupapa`u ocean entry and at Royal Gardens subdivision

Left. A deflation-inflation (DI) event produced a surge of lava over the past several days, creating a small breakout on the coastal plain, a few hundred meters inland from the Kupapa`u ocean entry. The breakout appears as two silvery fingers, one of which has reached the sea cliff. Between the two fingers, an area of active fuming marks the location of the lava tube feeding the ocean entry.Right. The surge of lava over the past several days has also created a breakout at the top of Royal Gardens subdivision. Today, the breakout was still active, and was feeding a number of small channelized pāhoehoe flows radiating out from the breakout point.

Left. In this close-up view of the breakout at the top of Royal Gardens, a vigorous lobe of pāhoehoe - fed by a small channel upstream - advances over older flows. Right. An HVO geologist collects a fresh sample of the active breakout at the top of Royal Gardens, using a rock hammer and water bucket for quenching. Because the lava was coming directly out of the tube, it was remarkably gas-rich, and had the consistency of marshmallow fluff.

Gas sampling site on Halema`uma`u Crater

Left. Geologist sampling gas from a fumarole on the north side of Halema`uma`u Crater. Right. A second gas sampling site on the west side of Halema`uma`u Crater, informally called the "smiley face fumarole."

3 June 2009

Rare view into Halema`uma`u vent

Left. Conditions provided a rare view of active lava in the Halema`uma`u vent. This photograph is looking down into the cavity, and gives a sense of how deep the lava was. The small area of active, circulating lava was about 100 meters below the crater floor. Right. Close-up view of the active lava surface. Lava was emerging in the upper right and flowing at a remarkable rate towards the lower left, where it would disappear from sight.

Awesome Quicktime movie of Halema`uma`u crater

This Quicktime movie shows the behavior of the active lava at the base of the cavity in Halema`uma`u crater. Lava emerged in the upper right and flowed towards the lower left. The surface was disrupted by a chaos of waves, splashes, bubble bursts and spattering. The video is shown at actual speed.

Eruption-viewing opportunities change constantly, so refer to this page often. Those readers planning a visit to Kilauea or Mauna Loa volcanoes can get much useful information from Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.