Lava Lake Inside Halema‘uma‘u Close-ups, Only One Vent Now Active

The eruption inside of Halema‘uma‘u has consolidated into a single vent on the western wall of the crater. According to USGS the emissions of Sulfur Dioxide have reduced down to 2,500 tonnes per day as October 11, 2021. At the western end of the lava lake has raised to 783 meters, raising at a rate of roughly 2m (7ft) per day. Since the start of the eruption the lava lake level has risen 40m (131ft). The full Kilauea update from USGS: https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/volcano-updates Images and captions from USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, photos taken by Mike Zoeller. IMAGE 1 - "This zoomed-in view of the western fissure within Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea, was captured on October 11, 2021, through the lens of a laser rangefinder. A prominent horseshoe-shaped spatter cone, measured to be standing 28 m (92 ft) above the adjacent lava lake, surrounds a roiling lava pond which also hosts taller fountains at times. HVO scientists observed multiple collapses of spatter veneer from the cone into the pond every few minutes; these collapses appeared to have no effect on the fissure's eruptive activity. USGS image by M. Zoeller." IMAGE 2 - "HVO scientists captured this zoomed-in photo of the western fissure within Halema‘uma‘u through the lens of a laser rangefinder on October 9, 2021. The fissure has formed a horseshoe-shaped spatter cone around its source, with an opening on the east (right) side allowing lava to flow into the active lava lake. The spatter cone was measured to be standing 30 m (98 ft) tall relative to the surrounding lava; this is 50% taller than the western fissure from the December 2020–May 2021 eruption, which stood approximately 20 m (66 ft) in height during the later stages of that eruption. USGS image by M. Zoeller." IMAGE 3 - "This zoomed-in view of the northwest side of the main island within the Halema‘uma‘u lava lake shows a "rootless lava flow" (silver) that formed in the early stages of the eruption on September 29, 2021. A rootless lava flow is one that has no physical linkage with its source eruptive vent, because the flow is fed by molten spatter falling onto a solidified surface. In this case, that surface was the main island in the Kīlauea summit December 2020–May 2021 lava lake, which is now coated with the rootless lava flow. Subsequent deformation of the island as it re-floated within the new lava lake caused cracking that fractured the rootless flow coating. USGS image by M. Zoeller."