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Participants were invited to submit a poem in haiku format or art recognizing Hawaiʻi’s volcanic landscapes in the following age divisions: elementary (grades K-5), middle school (grades 6-8), high school and adult. Nearly 60 entries were received, most from kamaʻāina.

Kīlauea volcano’s Episode 7 of eruptive activity ends abrubtly 16 hours after it began, but inflation at the summit is already on the rise again, so it might not be long until an Episode 8 is underway.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory says a new eruptive episode in the Big Island volcano’s summit caldera could begin sometime between Jan. 27 and Jan. 31. The north vent continued to glow strongly the night of Jan. 26 in Halema‘uma‘u Crater, indicating magma remains close to the surface.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory says another eruptive event could start within the next 1 to 2 days if the inflation rate at the Big Island volcano’s summit stays similar to that during Episode 5. The tiltmeter at Uēkahuna bluff started recording the start of inflationary tilt at 1 p.m. Jan. 25.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports lava fountains and flows from the north vent in the southwest portion of Halemaʻumaʻu Crater stopped at 12:36 p.m. Livestream images an hour later showed only a crater shrouded by volcanic gas and steam.

Episode 6 of the Big Island volcano’s latest eruption, which began the week of Christmas 2024, is underway as lava flows onto the crater floor from a geiser that started at about 11:28 p.m. Jan. 24.

Wondering about that dusting of glittery threads on your property? Pele’s hair is the name for the strands of volcanic glass that are created when globs of liquid lava are stretched apart during an eruption.

After less than a day of eruptive activity, Episode V of the Big Island volcano’s ongoing summit eruption — the shortest so far — ended early Thursday morning. Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists say a sixth episode coudl start sometime during the next few days if inflationary trends continue.

Ongoing episodic eruption within summit caldera of Big Island’s Kīlauea volcano that began Dec. 23, 2024, started its fifth eruptive event at about 3 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 21, after about 4 days on pause.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports that If that relatively high rate of inflation being recorded by instruments at the summit now continues and magma remains high in the vent — as indicated by peristent strong glow at night — there is a high probability a fifth fountaining episode could begin sometime between Jan. 21 and Jan. 24.

When magma cools prior to eruption, crystals grow and develop chemical zones that record changes in the environment around them. Scientists study chemical differences in these zones, which can provide information about the magma, including its temperature, composition and more.

The low level eruptive activity has gone on for more than a day, after the eruption resumed Thursday evening. Eruptions in the summit region typically last about a week to more than a year. This eruption began during the early morning of Dec. 23.

This is the Big Island volcano’s third eruption this year, and all three happened in different parts of the mountain — the Southwest Rift Zone, East Rift Zone and now the summit caldera. The last time eruptions happened in all of these areas in the same year was 50 years ago!

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports that at about 3 p.m. today, tilt at the summit stopped showing deflation and seismic tremor began decreasing. By 3:30 p.m., lava fountains were barely visible, and by 4 p.m. fountaining had stopped and seismic tremor was close to background levels. Visible volcanic gas emissions also decreased significantly.

Native Hawaiian oral traditions record a rich history of the changing volcanic landscape in Hawaiʻi. Interweaving cultural knowledge with scientific disciplines can provide a more complete understanding of past events, including the largest known lava flow eruption of Kīlauea.

Borehole tiltmeters have been used by the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) since the early 1970s and have since become an essential part of HVO’s volcano monitoring program.

While there were several summit eruptions at Kīlauea during the decade, including one that lasted more than 8 months, eruptions along the East Rift Zone — mainly in the upper and middle portions — were much more frequent.

In Hawai‘i, earthquakes are a common occurrence, and we should always practice earthquake preparedness.

The eruption does not currently pose an immediate threat to human life or infrastructure.

According to Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, the brief eruption occurred near the National Park Nāpau campsite (east of Kānenuiohamo and Makaopuhi Crater and west of Nāpau Crater) on the middle East Rift Zone between 9 and 10 p.m.