#Halemaumau Crater

Episode 47 of lava fountaining during the ongoing episodic summit eruption of the Big Island volcano tied the 1983-86 initial phase of the Pu‘u‘ō‘ō eruption on Kīlauea, which had a total of 47 events, for the most fountaining episodes ever recorded — so far — at the volcano; so how do these historic eruptions compare?

Conditions in and around the closed area at the summit of Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park can evolve quickly, and elevate the risk of rockfalls, ground cracking and other potentially life‑threatening hazards.

Like the “Did You Feel It?” earthquake reporting tool helps make maps of areas affected by shaking, the new tool helps scientists map areas affected by tephra fallout; observations will be used to assess the character and size of the eruption plumes from Kīlauea volcano on the Big Island, along with the dispersal pattern of tephra fall.

It is yet to be determined if temblor swarms following Episode 40 of the Big Island volcano’s ongoing episodic eruption that began Dec. 23, 2024, will impact lava fountaining activity at the surface.

The most recent eruptive event at the summit of the Big Island lasted about 8.1 hours less than the first episode that started the eruption a year ago on Dec. 23, 2024, but produced higher fountains and more lava output.

The rare ongoing eruption within Halema’uma’u Crater inside the summit caldera of the Big Island volcano began Dec. 23, 2024, with Episode 39 expected any day now.

Visitors to Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island, where the volcano is located, see remarkable views during the episodic eruptions within the summit, but the latest episode — No. 38 — reminds us how quickly hazards associated with this dynamic activity can change.

The latest eruptive activity kicked off at 12:53 a.m. Oct. 1 from the north vent in the southwest portion of Halemaʻumaʻu Crater, with molten rock fountaining from the south vent as well within the next several hours.

Inclined lava fountains from north vent within Halemaʻumaʻu Crater inside the Big Island volcano’s caldera ejected molten rock 1,000 feet eastward toward the center of the crater for much of the 12.6 hours the latest eruptive episode.

Lava began fountaining from the north vent within Halemaʻumaʻu Crater at 2:04 p.m., with molten rock ejecting about 100 feet high, feeding multiple lava streams by 2:15 p.m. onto the crater floor.

While it is challenging that a small portion of the Kīlauea monitoring network is impacted by the ongoing summit eruption, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory says maintaining the network during eruptions comes with the job when it’s monitoring one of the most active volcanoes on Earth.

Essentially, gas pistoning is a shallow, degassing-driven rise and fall of a lava surface. Pistons often occur in narrow conduits, although they can happen in larger lava lakes and even in lava channels — and in bunches, as part of a series.

High fountains lasted nearly 11 hours and produced about 1.6 bilion gallons of lava, covering 80% of the Halemaʻumaʻu Crater floor within the Big Island volcano’s summit caldera. Lava flows from this episode could continue to exhibit slow movement or incandescence throughout the coming days.

“Sustained lava fountaining is likely to begin on June 29 or 30 [Sunday or Monday] based on the current rate of summmit inflation, but could begin sooner if precursory activity escalates.” — Hawaiian Volcano Observatory

The spectacular series of Kīlauea eruptive episodes during the past 6 months has been remarkably safe for public viewing, but a simple change in wind or brief vent collapse could cause dramatic shift in the hazards produced by the volcano.

While the eruptive event lasted just about 8 hours, lava was ejected to peak heights of well more than 1,000 feet Friday (June 20) from the north vent in Halemaʻumaʻu Crater at the Big Island volcano.

Record-setting lava fountain and plume heights were reached during Episode 23 of the Kīlauea summit caldera eruption. Given increasing airborne hazards associated with each new eruptive episode, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory is changing its episode notification types.

Legendary observation deck at Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park steeped in history and centuries of Hawaiian tradition reopen and ready to welcome back visitors 7 years after it was closed.

Lava fountains reach more than 1,000 feet, volcanic plume soars at least 5,000 feet before most recent phase of eruptive activity — that teased for several days — abruptly ends after just 6 hours and 10 minutes Sunday night.

Most recent eruptive episode of the ongoing eruption in Halemaʻumaʻu Crater within Kaluapele, the summit caldera of the Big Island volcano, ended at 3:29 p.m. Friday, 10 hours and 16 minutes after another awesome display of high fountaining began.