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September 2024 Kīlauea East Rift Zone Eruption Video Player is loading.
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On the night of September 15, a small eruption began in middle East Rift Zone on Kīlauea volcano, covering 4 acres with lava; after a brief pause, the eruption resumed at Nāpau crater and continued over the next few days, covering 156 acres in total and signaling a significant shift in volcanic activity at Kīlauea. 
USGS map courtesy of Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. Is it a real eruption if no one can see it? While the eruption area was within view of a Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) web cam, unusually heavy rain obscured the new lava from camera. As a consequence, HVO geologists were unsure if an eruption had actually occurred for several hours, though there were monitoring signal indicative of gas or steam venting. Meanwhile, in the nearby village of Volcano, residents noted unusually heavy sulfur dioxide or vog in the windless night air. They knew something must be happening. The next morning HVO geologists flew over Kīlauea volcano's remote middle East Rift Zone and discovered new lava flows had indeed erupted over about an hour during the previous evening on September 15, 2024. Small lava pads erupted from two fissure segments in a couple hundred meters (hundred yards). Although the eruption paused by the time of the overflight, volcanic gas was still being emitted by the new fissure vents in this remote area of the park. Numerous eruptions took place in Kīlauea's middle East Rift Zone during the 1960s–1970s. Most of these eruptions occurred between Hiʻiaka crater and Puʻuʻōʻō and lasted from less than one day to about two weeks, although there were long-lived eruptions at Maunaulu (1969–1971 and 1972–1974) and Puʻuʻōʻō (1983–2018). 
USGS image by A. Ellis Later that morning, geologists visited the site to gather samples. This process involves puting molten lava into a metal bucket and rapidly quenching it with water. The fast quench is needed to preserve the geochemistry of the fresh sample and prevent changes that would result from the formation of crystals during slow cooling. The samples will be taken to the lab for analysis, providing scientists with information about conditions in the magma chamber and magma's path to the surface. While this eruption has been relatively small in terms of volume of lava, gas emmissions have registerd at very high levels at a nearby monitor station at Kealakomo Overlook. 
USGS photo by M. Zoeller At 3:15 p.m. HST, on September 18, new eruptive fissures opened west of Nāpau crater. A monitoring camera deployed by HVO field crews with permission from Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park recorded “lava falls” cascading down the northwest walls of Nāpau Crater. Vigorous activity continued and by the morning of September 19, about two thirds of Nāpau Crater floor had been covered with new lava. As of 10 a.m. HST on September 20, phase 4 eruptive activity came to an end. HVO lowered the volcano status from WATCH/ORANGE to ADVISORY/YELLOW on Monday, September 23.
Photo Gallery Nāpau crater eruption and dama...11 Images Nāpau campground and trail damage from September 2024 eruption of Kīlauea volcano |
Last updated: October 3, 2024