What's Going On With The Volcanoes?

Please Be Aware:

Beginning in May, 2018, the lava lake that existed inside Halema‘uma‘u crater disappeared and lava flows from Puʻu ʻŌʻō crater have ceased. There is no molten lava or lava glow to see anywhere in or out of the park.

 

Duration:

7 minutes, 30 seconds

In 2018, a new eruption of Kīlauea volcano changed the island of Hawai‘i forever. From May through August, large lava flows covered land southeast of the park destroying over 700 homes and devastating residential areas in the Puna District. At the same time, the summit area of the park was dramatically changed by tens of thousands of earthquakes, towering ash plumes, and a massive collapse of Kīlauea caldera.

 

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The body of water in Halemaʻumaʻu crater, as seen on October 26th, 2019

NPS Photo/J. Wei

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) Now Tracks Water at the Summit of Kīlauea

On August 1st, 2019, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) scientists confirmed a growing pond of water inside Halema'uma'u crater during a helicopter overflight. Similar to the monitoring of ponded lava in Halema‘uma‘u in 2008‒2018, HVO scientists are now relying on both direct observations and modern tools to monitor and document any changes to the water.

The water in Halema‘uma‘u is not visible from publicly accessible areas of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, but HVO now has webcams that provide a direct view of the pond. To measure the level of water in the ponds, HVO scientists use a long-range laser rangefinder.

In recent media interviews, HVO scientists have discussed how the presence of water could increase the potential for explosive activity given the right set of conditions. At the current time, however, monitoring data do not indicate any signs of imminent unrest at Kīlauea's summit.

 

An unmanned aircraft system, UAS, flown to gather photographs, gas measurements and a water sample from the scalding hot surface of the pond in Halemaʻumaʻu crater on October 26th, 2019

NPS Photo/A. LaValle

On October 26, our colleagues at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory took the next step in unlocking the secrets of this body of water. They launched a specialized unmanned aircraft system, UAS, that gathered photographs, gas measurements and a water sample from its scalding hot surface.

On November 7, USGS noted that "Early results indicate that the sample has a pH of 4.2 (moderately acidic, in the range of many fruit juices) and high concentrations of dissolved sulfur and magnesium"

The lake is now the size of a football field, about 110 meters long (360 feet) by 50 meters wide (164 feet) and about 10 meters (33 feet) deep, rising in the bottom of the former Halema‘uma‘u Crater, about 600 meters (1,969 feet) below the western caldera rim. The water pond at the bottom of the crater was about 70 degrees Celsius (158 degrees Fahrenheit).

Using a UAS is the safest way to gather this groundbreaking research. Although scientists are confident the lake is the rising water table known to exist within Kīlauea, never before in modern history has there been water visible at the summit of Kīlauea in the form of a lake. USGS performed its innovative mission with support and approval from Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

 

The USGS unmanned aircraft system above the water in Halemaʻumaʻu crater, October 26th. 2019 (NPS Photo/J. Wei)

 

Halemaʻumaʻu crater, October 26th, 2019 (NPS Photo/A. LaValle)

 

Current Conditions Courtesy USGS - Hawaiian Volcano Observatory

 

A full moon over Mauna Loa (NPS Photo/J. Wei)

Thursday, November 14th, 2019

Kīlauea Activity Summary: Kīlauea Volcano is not erupting. Monitoring data continue to show steady rates of seismicity and ground deformation, low rates of sulfur dioxide emission, and only minor geologic changes since the end of eruptive activity in September 2018. Water continues to pond at the bottom of Halema'uma'u inside the summit caldera.

Mauna Loa Activity Summary: Mauna Loa Volcano is not erupting. Rates of deformation and seismicity have not changed significantly over the past week and remain above long-term background levels.

Observations: During the past week, approximately 180 small-magnitude earthquakes (nearly all smaller than M2.0) were detected beneath the upper elevations of Mauna Loa. Most of the earthquakes occurred at shallow depths of less than 5 km (~3 miles) below sea level.

Global Positioning System (GPS) and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) measurements show continued summit inflation, consistent with magma supply to the volcano's shallow storage system.

Readings of fumarole temperature and gas concentrations at the Sulphur Cone monitoring site on the Southwest Rift Zone remain stable.

Updates on the status of Mauna Loa Volcano will be issued each week on Thursdays until further notice.

For more information on current monitoring of Mauna Loa Volcano, see: https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/mauna_loa/monitoring_summary.html

 

USGS Publication
Preliminary summary of Kīlauea Volcano’s 2018 lower East Rift Zone eruption and summit collapse (pdf 10.2MB)

 

Kīlauea Summit - Then and Now

Kīlauea summit on November 28, 2008 Photo courtesy USGS - Hawaiian Volcano Observatory

Kīlauea summit on August 1, 2018 Photo courtesy USGS - Hawaiian Volcano Observatory

USGS - Hawaiian Volcano Observatory: Then and now. It has proven difficult to exactly match past and present views of Kīlauea's summit to show the dramatic changes in the volcanic landscape, but here's our latest attempt. At left is a photo taken on November 28, 2008, with a distinct gas plume rising from the vent that had opened within Halema‘uma‘u about eight months earlier. At right is a photo taken on August 1, 2018, to approximate the 2008 view for comparison.

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Kīlauea Summit - Before & After

NASA image taken on January 14, 2003

USGS photo taken on August 7, 2018

 Drag center circle/line left and right to reveal the before and after photos.

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NPS Photo/Jessica Ferracane

Links to More Information:

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
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Earthquakes - Hawaiʻi
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