Special Event

Event

What Have We Learned about Kīlauea Volcano’s Summit Water Lake?

Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park

Fee:

Free.

Location: LAT/LONG: 19.064344, -155.677804


This section of the park is located an hour's drive from Kīlauea Visitor Center. Enter the Kahuku unit of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park on the ma uka (uphill) side of Highway 11 near mile marker 70.5, and meet at the Kahuku Visitor Contact Station.

Dates & Times

Date:

Saturday, January 11, 2025

Time:

9:30 AM

Duration:

1 hour

Type of Event

Talk

Description

What Have We Learned about Kīlauea Volcano’s Summit Water Lake? 

The summit of Kīlauea volcano collapsed in 2018 as lava erupted at lower elevations from the East Rift Zone. In late July 2019, a water lake, unprecedented in the written record of the volcano’s history, appeared at the bottom of the deepest part of the caldera, in Halema‘uma‘u crater. The lake steadily rose, with temperatures above boiling and changing colors, until its demise when an eruption started in Halemauʻmaʻu the night of December 20, 2020. The water lake was quickly replaced with a lava lake as eruptive activity returned to the summit for the first time since 2018. What were the potential hazards associated with the water lake at Kīlauea summit? What did we learn about the water? How was it sampled and monitored? Join USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist Tricia Nadeau, who is also an Unoccupied Aircraft Systems (UAS or drone) pilot, as she answers these questions and more. 

When: Saturday, January 11 at 9:30 a.m.  

Where: Kahuku Unit Visitor Contact Station. Turn into the park near the 70.5 mile marker on Hwy 11 in Kaʻū  

Reservation or Registration: No


Contact Information

Interpretation and Education
808-929-8075
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