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Images and Chronology

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11 March 2009

Perched lava channel before and after shots and thermal video of Halema`uma`u vent

A before and after shot of a recent collapse in pool 1 of the perched lava channel. The small hole broken through the crust in the left photo is about 5 m (16 feet) across. Within the last week, a 60 m (200 foot) portion of the crust over the lava pond collapsed. The lava pond has crusted over and the collapse rubble can be seen on the crusted surface. The photo on the left was taken on February 26, the photo on the right with a difference in view of almost 90 degrees, was taken on March 11.

This Quicktime movie shows a thermal video providing views into the Halema`uma`u vent. At a depth of about 130 yards below the vent rim, there is a series of small puffing gas vents, and these occasionally throw small amounts of spatter into the air. The configuration and geometry of these small puffing vents have been observed to change on a daily basis. Much of the interior of the Halema`uma`u vent is filled with rubble from frequent collapses of the vent walls.

5 March 2009

Perched channel large opening, new time-lapse camera, and Waikupanaha entry

Left. Active surface flow near the eastern National Park boundary.Right. The Waikupanaha delta has been mostly rebuilt since it partly collapsed on Saturday, February 28.

The coastal plain remains active, with lava flowing through tubes and across the surface, as shown by this visible-thermal comparison. The Waikupanaha entry, active since March 2008, was producing a modest plume today. This entry is fed by a subsurface tube, which does not exhibit a large thermal signature. Active surface flows, situated west of the Waikupanaha entry, are distinct in the thermal image. Letters denote corresponding points of reference in the visible and thermal images. Earlier surface flows created short-lived entries at Poupou and Waha`ula, which are now both inactive.

26 February 2009

Perched channel large opening, new time-lapse camera, and Waikupanaha entry

Left. A large opening in the floor of pool 1 of the perched channel. Below the crust is a large void and sluggish lava pond. The pond occasionally overturns and hosts small bubble bursts. Right. A time-lapse camera is deployed on the rim of pool 1 to monitor changes in the lava level of the pond.

Left. The Waikupanaha ocean entry plume has resumed after two back to back DI events. The entry reactivated around 7 pm last night (February 25). Winds were incredibly strong, causing the plume to skim along the water and keep from lofting. Right. Small lava streams enter the ocean along the front of the Waikupanaha delta.

20 February 2009

New Poupou ocean entry, Waikupanaha entry and infrared image

Left. The new ocean entry this week, situated at Poupou, consists of a single lobe of lava feeding a small but growing delta at the base of the sea cliff. Right. The Waikupanaha entry, active since March 2008, has built a lava delta out from the sea cliff. Shore-parallel cracks, visible in this photograph, attest to the instability, and potential for collapse, of the delta.

The TEB tube system cuts through the middle of the Royal Gardens subdivision, and feeds both a steadily active ocean entry at Waikupanaha (out of view, to the right of the image) and an area of active breakouts on the coastal plain (center of the image). This image shows the area of coastal plain breakouts, both in the visual (top) and infrared (bottom). One lobe of the active breakouts is feeding a new entry at Poupou. Earlier activity fed an entry at Waha`ula, which is now inactive. Points A and B designate corresponding points of reference in the visual and infrared images.

18 February 2009

Ballistic field behind Waikupanaha ocean entry, and lava drips over cliff

Left. An area of the ballistic field behind the Waikupanaha ocean entry. The lava delta collapsed yesterday afternoon (February 17) and created explosions that threw pieces of the delta, along with fresh lava, up to 275 m (900 ft) inland from the ocean entry point.Right. A large piece of spatter that landed about 170 m (560 ft) inland from the ocean entry during the February 17 delta collapse.

Left. Lava flows over the sea cliff creating a small steam plume and lava delta near the buried Poupou-Kauka West archeological site within the National Park. The new entry, which is located between Waikupanaha and Waha`ula, began within the last day. Right. Close-up photo of the lava as it drips over the sea cliff and hardens like candle wax.

New ocean entry Quicktime movie

This Quicktime movie shows the new ocean entry within the National Park, near the location of the buried Poupou-Kauka West archeological site. The entry consists of a series of narrow lava cascades falling onto the rocks at the base of the sea cliff.

11 February 2009

Large plume from Waikupanaha ocean entry, and spatter and cow-pie lavas

Left. The Waikupanaha ocean entry continued to produce a large plume as several streams of lava enter the ocean. In the center of the photograph, a large crack has formed, running parallel with the coastline and cutting across a littoral cone on the delta. This littoral cone was created in the past several weeks, and clearly shows the instability of lava deltas. Right. Spatter and cow-pie lava litter the area behind the Waikupanaha delta. The shiny blobs are deposits from the recent periods of bubble bursting on February 9 and 10. For more information and photos on this topic, go to our website at http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/hazards/oceanentry/deltaexplosions/ and scroll down to the section on bubble bursts.

7 February 2009

Thermal imagery video of Halema`uma`u lava lake cycles

This video shows thermal imagery of the vent inside Halema`uma`u crater. The lava surface, about 130 yards below the vent rim, is clearly visible and can be seen undergoing cycles of filling and drainback. Filling phases entail a rapidly rising lava level with intense (and loud) spattering, followed by a gradual phase of lava draining back down the conduit. These cycles are thought to be controlled by episodic gas accumulation and release in the conduit. The thermal image sequence is sped up by a factor of 15.

4-5 February 2009

Robust brown plume rises from the Halema`uma`u vent, billowing steam plume from the Waikupanaha ocean entry, and thermal Halema`uma`u images

Left. A dense ashy plume rises from the Halema`uma`u Overlook vent at 12:59, likely caused by a rock fall inside the vent on February 4. Right. A close up of the ash event on February 4. The collapse probably reopened the vent which has been largely blocked by rubble since early December.

Left. The familiar large billowing steam plume from the Waikupanaha ocean entry has diminished to minor puffs of steam after the onset of a DI event on February 3. The orange dot in the center of the photo is a single stream of lava entering the ocean. Right. Two small streams of lava are seen on the Waha`ula delta in the National Park. Due to the February 3 DI event, the entry plume was drastically reduced to wisps of steam.

The Halema`uma`u vent was again obscured to the naked eye by fume today, as shown by the photograph. Thermal images acquired on today's overflight, however, could 'see' through the fume, and revealed changes within the vent that occurred during the morning. On the early morning pass of the vent, at 8:49 am, a deep opening could be seen within the vent, extending to even greater depths. On the early afternoon pass, at 1:02 pm, this opening was filled with a crusted lava pond, indicating that lava had risen during the intervening period. The lava surface is estimated at about 130 yards below the vent rim.

3 February 2009

Active scattered breakouts on coastal plain feeds Waha`ula ocean entry

Scattered breakouts remained active on the coastal plain, within and near the National Park boundary, with one lobe feeding the Waha`ula ocean entry (not shown).

Small vigorous breakout pushes out large section of the flow front

An inflated flow front, about 1.5 yards in thickness, gives way and releases a gush of very fluid lava from its interior. This small but vigorous breakout occurred when pressurized lava within the flow created fractures at the margin, and then pushed out a large section of the flow front as a single block (about 2 yards wide). As the block fell down, fluid lava then spilled out from behind it, creating a thin, fast-moving flow which partially buried the block. This image sequence covers about five minutes.

29 January 2009

Lava falls and a small lava delta at the new Waha`ula ocean entry

Left. Lava flows drip over the sea cliff creating several lava falls at the new Waha`ula ocean entry. Right. A stream of lava pours into the sea, building a small lava delta at Waha`ula.

22 January 2009

Halema`uma`u Overlook vent obscured and a visible lava stream at Waikupanaha

Left. Despite two small rim collapses on Sunday, January 18, the view into the Halema`uma`u Overlook vent is still obscured by fume. The vent is now 377 feet (115 meters) across. Right. A lava stream is visible pouring into the ocean from the center of the Waikupanaha delta. Several points of entry along the delta create a large billowing steam plume.

Draping lava reaches the ocean at Waha`ula

Left. Lava finally reaches the ocean inside the national park at Waha`ula. The entry began sometime between the evening of January 21 and the morning of January 22, 2009. The shiny flow in the center of the photo is the active branch of the TEB flow that made it to the ocean. Right. A closer view of the new ocean entry at Waha`ula. Lava drapes over the sea cliff and creates a small amount of steam where it is dripping into the ocean.

A narrow finger of lava cascades over the sea cliff into the ocean at Waha`ula. The corresponding thermal image on the right highlights the contrast of the active lobe.

On the left, a thermal image taken from a helicopter on December 31 shows relatively cool temperatures inside the Halema`uma`u vent. Vent glow, ash production and gas-rushing sounds have reappeared this week—after a six week pause—and this increase in activity is shown by the new hot source within the conduit (measured at about 90-100 yards below the rim).

14 January 2009

Pu`u `Ō `ō fuming line sources, and cool views of snow-capped Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, and the Halema`uma`u plume in background

Left. Winds from the west push the plume from Pu`u `Ō `ō crater towards the east. The line of fuming sources to the right of, and beyond, Pu`u `Ō `ō originates from skylights and fume outlets in the TEB tube system. Right. In the foreground, Pu`u `Ō `ō's fume-filled crater marks the current center of activity on Kilauea's east rift zone. In the upper right, the snow-capped summit of Mauna Kea is visible. In the upper left, the broad snow-covered summit of Mauna Loa can be seen. In this view, the summit of Kilauea is immediately below Mauna Loa's summit, and the Halema`uma`u plume is visible drifting to the northeast.

Waikupanaha ocean entry's narrow stream of incandescent lava

Left. Lava on the coastal plain marches slowly towards the ocean, with the currently active lava comprising the lighter colored areas emplaced over darker, older flows from the current eruption. The narrow finger of recent lava at the far left of the photograph was a lobe that stalled to within about 150 yards of the coast. In the center of the photograph, the shiny area indicates an active lava lobe, which is about 350 yards from the coast. Right. A close-up view of the lava delta at the Waikupanaha ocean entry reveals a narrow stream of incandescent lava entering the water. Upon contact with the water, the fluid lava often breaks apart into globs that float on the surface for some time, creating the steam trails visible here.

8 January 2009

Active pahoehoe lobe

Left. Scattered pahoehoe breakouts were active today on the coastal plain. In the very upper left of the photograph, fuming is visible from the tubes supplying lava to the coastal plain flows. Right. An active pahoehoe lobe on its slow march to the ocean, just west of the current Waikupanaha ocean entry and its vigorous plume. The white dot to the left of the ocean entry is an unoccupied structure that was surrounded by flows in August 2008.

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.