Photo and Video Chronology — December 28 & 29, 2024 — Kīlauea summit eruption continues
Maintenance of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory's instrumental monitoring network is an ever-ongoing process, but it is especially important during eruptions. Here, two scientists perform repairs on a gas monitoring station located just west of Kaluapele—Kīlauea's summit caldera—on Saturday, December 28, 2024. An upward-looking spectrometer measures the amount of sulfur dioxide (SO2) passing over the station, and when combined with data from other similar instruments located downwind of the ongoing eruption within Halemaʻumaʻu crater, an approximate SO2 emission rate can be calculated. USGS photo by M. Zoeller.
Photo and Video Chronology — December 30, 2024 — Kīlauea summit eruption continues
Maintenance of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory's instrumental monitoring network is an ever-ongoing process, but it is especially important during eruptions. Here, two scientists perform repairs on a gas monitoring station located just west of Kaluapele—Kīlauea's summit caldera—on Saturday, December 28, 2024. An upward-looking spectrometer measures the amount of sulfur dioxide (SO2) passing over the station, and when combined with data from other similar instruments located downwind of the ongoing eruption within Halemaʻumaʻu crater, an approximate SO2 emission rate can be calculated. USGS photo by M. Zoeller.
Photo and Video Chronology — December 27, 2024 — Kīlauea summit eruption continues
Lava fountains reached heights of up to 80 meters (262 feet) high during the December 23-25, 2024, Kīlauea summit eruption and tephra was deposited to the south across the old Crater Rim Drive (a closed part of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park). In this photo, taken around 10 a.m. HST on December 27, 2024, during a USGS Hawiian Volcano Observatory helicopter overflight, the medium-brown colored material draping the landscape to the south of the crater rim is the tephra from this eruption. It completely covered portions of Crater Rim Drive and is being more reworked by the wind with each passing
Volcano Watch — Kīlauea summit erupts again
Volcano Watch is a weekly article and activity update written by U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists and affiliates. The eruption at the summit of Kīlauea volcano on December 24, 2024. Several vents along the southwest of Halema‘uma‘u crater floor feed lava flows on the floor of Kaluapele (Kīlauea caldera). The new eruption within Kaluapele (the summit caldera) began at approximately 2:20 a.m. HST on December 23, 2024. Lava fountains reached heights of nearly 300 feet (91 meters) and lava flows covered more than 650 acres (2.6 square kilometers) during two distinct eruptive episodes between December 23 and 25. Both
Photo and Video Chronology — December 25, 2024 — Kīlauea summit eruption pauses
Lava began draining back into the vent at 11:00 a.m. on December 25, at nearly the same time that summit tiltmeters began recording a change from deflation to inflation. Seismic tremor also decreased markedly at the same time. The pattern was similar but more abrupt than the onset of the pause on Monday, December 23, that occurred between 3 and 4 p.m. Episode 2 lasted a little over 24 hours, which is about twice the duration of the first eruptive episode. Prior summit eruptions have lasted days to weeks and there is a high probability that this eruption will resume
New webcam views Halemaʻumaʻu eruptive vents at the summit of Kīlauea
On Christmas Day, December 25, the eruption at the summit of Kīlauea volcano continues, with lava fountains feeding lava flows within Kaluapele (the summit caldera). A new webcam provides views of the eruptive vents. The S2cam is positioned on the south rim of Kaluapele (Kīlauea summit caldera. It looks to the west, providing a live view of the vents erupting in the southwest part of Halemaʻumaʻu and Kaluapele. A webpage with the current S2cam live image and animated GIF of the past 24 hours is available here: [S2cam] - Halemaʻumaʻu crater at the summit of Kīlauea Another webpage provides live
Photo and Video Chronology — December 24, 2024 — Kīlauea summit eruption resumes
The eruption at Kīlauea volcano that began yesterday, December 23, slowed starting around 3 p.m. HST yesterday. The eruption paused through the night and reactivated this morning, December 24, at several of the vents along the southwest of Halema‘uma‘u crater floor. Christmas Eve Kīlauea Eruption Observations The eruption at Kīlauea volcano that began yesterday, December 23, slowed starting around 3 p.m. HST yesterday. The eruption paused through the night and reactivated this morning at several of the vents along the southwest of Halema‘uma‘u crater floor. Eruptive activity remains confined to Halemaʻumaʻu and the downdropped block within the caldera and may fluctuate in
Kīlauea VAN/VONA — WATCH/ORANGE Summit eruption stabilized
HVO/USGS Volcanic Activity Notice Volcano: Kilauea (VNUM #332010) Current Volcano Alert Level: WATCHPrevious Volcano Alert Level: WARNING Current Aviation Color Code: ORANGEPrevious Aviation Color Code: RED Issued: Monday, December 23, 2024, 6:43 AM HST Source: Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Notice Number: 2024/H438 Location: N 19 deg 25 min W 155 deg 17 min Elevation: 4091 ft (1247 m) Area: Hawaii Volcanic Activity Summary: Kīlauea volcano is erupting within Halemaʻumaʻu crater in the summit caldera. As of 6:30 a.m. HST, the eruption has stabilized within the crater and there are no immediate threats to infrastructure. The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory is lowering
Photo and Video Chronology — December 23, 2024 — New Kīlauea summit eruption
This video, taken from the west rim of Kaluapele (Kīlauea caldera), in the closed area of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, shows the new eruption that started this morning at 2:20 a.m. HST. At approximately 4:30 a.m. HST, the lava fountains were reaching up to 80 meters (260 feet) and by 5:30 a.m., lava covered an area of approximately 400 acres on the caldera floor. Increased volcanic gas emissions downwind, within the closed area, require USGS field staff to use gas masks. USGS video by D. Downs. Webcams capture eruption onset The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory maintains a network of webcameras
Kīlauea VAN/VONA — new summit eruption
HVO/USGS Volcanic Activity Notice Volcano: Kilauea (VNUM #332010) Current Volcano Alert Level: WARNINGPrevious Volcano Alert Level: ADVISORY Current Aviation Color Code: REDPrevious Aviation Color Code: YELLOW Issued: Monday, December 23, 2024, 2:41 AM HST Source: Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Notice Number: 2024/H437 Location: N 19 deg 25 min W 155 deg 17 min Elevation: 4091 ft (1247 m) Area: Hawaii Volcanic Activity Summary: Kīlauea volcano is erupting. Elevated earthquake activity beneath the summit began at approximately 2 a.m. HST this morning, December 23. By 2:30 a.m., the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory observed eruptive activity in Kīlauea summit webcam images, indicating that an eruption has