Latest news with #Halemaʻumaʻu
Forbes
26-05-2025
- Forbes
Kilauea Eruption On Big Island Of Hawaii Hits Spectacular High Point
A USGS webcam captures lava fountaining near the summit of Kilauea volcano on Hawaii. One of the world's most active volcanoes put on a dazzling weekend show as Hawaii's Kilauea impressed onlookers with fountains of lava reaching heights of 1,000 feet in the air according to the US Geological Survey (USGS) Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. This represents some of the highest and most dramatic such fountaining action seen in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in decades. This latest episode in Kilauea's ongoing eruption started in Halemaʻumaʻu crater at 4:15 p.m. HST on Sunday and ended abruptly at 10:25 p.m., according to USGS. The agency marks this as episode 23 in an eruptive pattern that started in December and has been marked by periods of lava fountaining 'Most episodes of Halemaʻumaʻu lava fountaining since December 23, 2024, have continued for around a day or less and have been separated by pauses in eruptive activity lasting generally at least several days,' the USGS explained on its website. In addition to the bright orange lava fountains that make for a dramatic spectacle and wildly shareable social media content, the eruption also sent ash and other material like scoria and so-called Pele's hair nearly a mile into the atmosphere. 'Pele's hair is strands of volcanic glass often produced by lava fountaining activity,' the USGS says. 'Once they are on the ground, Pele's hair can sometimes cluster and tangle together, giving it the appearance of a tumbleweed… Residents and visitors should minimize exposure to Pele's hair and other volcanic fragments, which can cause skin and eye irritation.' The volcano observatory maintains three livestreams from the summit of Kilauea, including this one: So far, the eruptive fountaining activity remains confined to the Halemaʻumaʻu crater, rather than the more distant rift zones, where substantial eruptions in the previous decade did considerable damage to nearby communities.
Fox News
26-05-2025
- Science
- Fox News
Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano erupts with 1,000-foot 'lava fountaining'
Kīlauea Volcano – located along the southeastern shore of Hawaii Island – experienced "lava fountaining" that reached at least 1,000 feet high over the weekend. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) describes Kīlauea as one of the world's most active volcanoes. It has been erupting intermittently since Dec. 23, 2024, within the summit caldera in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. The 23rd episode of precursory activity began late last week with "low-level spattering and flames." According to Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, small lava fountains and lava overflows from the north vent started around 11:30 a.m. Saturday. "Sustained fountaining expected any time through the weekend," Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park Service wrote. The USGS reports that Kīlauea "is in a unique phase of activity in Halemaʻumaʻu, with numerous episodes of dual lava fountains since the eruption began." "Two eruptive vents are located in the southwest part of the caldera, referred to as the north and south vent, and they have been intermittently active, producing new lava flows over parts of Halemaʻumaʻu crater surface," according to the USGS. As of 5:20 p.m. local time on Sunday, the south vent had lava fountains 230 feet high, while the north vent had lava fountains 1,000 feet high, according to Hawaii News Now. USGS livestreams of the eruption site showed the lava fountains dropping in height and later stopping. The vents were still glowing and lava was still visibile on the crater floor. The volcano's last "fountaining phase" extended for about 10 hours on May 16, according to the USGS. Kīlauea experienced other recent fountaining phases this month on May 11, May 6 and May 2, lasting eight hours, 4.5 hours and eight hours, respectively. During the ongoing eruption, the USGS reported that pressure building beneath the surface caused an inflationary tilt prior to a lava fountaining episode. As pressure within the magma is released when lava fountaining begins, a switch to a deflationary tilt occurs. That pattern of inflation and deflation with every recent lava fountain episode "creates a saw-tooth pattern in ground tilt records over the past several months," according to the USGS, though the government agency reports that the summit has shown little net change in pressurization since the eruption began on Dec. 23, 2024.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Kīlauea begins episode 15 of eruption
HONOLULU (KHON2) — Pele is back in action after a several day break with Kīlauea's fifteenth episode of the Halemaʻumaʻu eruption beginning just after noon on March 25. The episode was preceded by eight small splatter fountains in the north vent, happening between 9:27 a.m. and 11:45 a.m., each lasting up to 10 minutes each. Once the episode fully picked up, Pele gave Hawaiʻi fountains up to 50 feet the winds at the summit are predicted to be weak, which the USGS says may allow the plume of gas to spread around Kīlauea's summit. As always, residents and visitors are cautioned about exposure to vog, Pele's hair and other small fragments of glass. For information about volcanic hazards, check out USGS' website, and to watch the eruption live check out the Kīlauea livestream on YouTube. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
