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Continuous thermal camera images of summit lava lake activity at Kīlauea volcano, Island of Hawaiʻi, 2010-2018
The 2008-2018 eruption at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, Island of Hawaiʻi, provided a unique opportunity to study lava lake behavior due to the accessibility and robust monitoring network (Patrick and others, 2021). During the eruption, the lava lake rose in elevation and enlarged, eventually reaching about 300 m in diameter. The lake exhibited frequent oscillations in elevation due to outgassing and magma reservoir pressure fluctuations (Patrick and others, 2015; 2019a), as well as continuous spattering and sporadic rockfall-triggered explosions (Orr and others, 2013). A major component of the monitoring of the eruption was a continuously operating thermal camera (named “HTcam”) situated on the crater rim above the lake (Patrick and others, 2014). This camera captured an image every 5 seconds for most of the eruption (2010-2018), and produced the largest imaging dataset of lava lake activity that we are aware of, anywhere on Earth. The camera was eventually destroyed in May 2018 during the summit collapse events associated with the destructive eruption on the lower East Rift Zone (Neal and others, 2019; Patrick and others, 2019b).
This data release includes the entirety of data collected by the HTcam. The data files are organized by year and month. The image data are in a binary format that can be easily opened with programs such as Python or Matlab. We have included a data details document that has information on the location and viewing geometry of the camera, as well as example code to show how to open the image files. These images, particularly when integrated with ground deformation and seismic data (Patrick and others, 2016a,c; 2019a), provide a robust dataset that may be explored more deeply for further insight into lava lake dynamics and basaltic eruption behavior.
References:
Mulliken KM, Kauahikaua JP, Swanson DA, Zoeller MH. 2024. Chronology of recent volcanic activity on the Island of Hawai‘i, Hawaii. U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9V3NQYB
Nadeau PA, Hurwitz S, Peek S, Lerner AH, Younger EF, Patrick MR, Damby DE, McCleskey RB, Kelly PJ. 2024. Chemistry, growth and fate of the unique, short-lived (2019-2020) water lake at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaii. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 25, https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GC011154
Neal CA, Brantley SR, Antolik L, Babb J, Burgess M, Calles K, Cappos M, Chang JC, Conway S, Desmither L, Dotray P, Elias T, Fukunaga P, Fuke S, Johanson IA, Kamibayashi K, Kauahikaua J, Lee RL, Pekalib S, Miklius A, Million W, Moniz CJ, Nadeau PA, Okubo P, Parcheta C, Patrick MR, Shiro B, Swanson DA, Tollett W, Trusdell F, Younger EF, Zoeller MH, Montgomery-Brown EK, Anderson KR, Poland MP, Ball J, Bard J, Coombs M, Dietterich HR, Kern C, Thelen WA, Cervelli PF, Orr T, Houghton BF, Gansecki C, Hazlett R, Lundgren P, Diefenbach AK, Lerner AH, Waite G, Kelly P, Clor L, Werner C, Mulliken K, Fisher G. 2019. The 2018 rift eruption and summit collapse of Kīlauea Volcano: Science 363:367-374. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aav7046
Orr TR, Thelen WA, Patrick MR, Swanson DA, Wilson DC. 2013. Explosive eruptions triggered by rockfalls at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaiʻi. Geology, 41:207-210
Orr T, Poland MP, Patrick MR, Thelen WA, Sutton AJ, Elias T, Thornber CR, Parcheta C, Wooten KM. 2015. Kīlauea’s 5-9 March 2011 Kamoamoa fissure eruption and its relation to 30+ years of activity from Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. In: Carey R, Poland M, Cayol V, Weis D, (eds) Hawaiian Volcanism: From Source to Surface: Hoboken, New Jersey, Wiley, American Geophysical Union Geophysical Monograph 208, p. 393-420.
Patrick MR, Orr T. 2018. Operational tracking of lava lake surface motion at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i,: U.S. Geological Survey Techniques and Methods 13-A3, 12 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/tm13A3.
Patrick M., Orr T, Antolik L, Lee L., Kamibayashi K. 2014. Continuous monitoring of Hawaiian volcanoes with thermal cameras. Journal of Applied Volcanology, 3:1. http://www.appliedvolc.com/content/3/1/1
Patrick MR, Anderson KR, Poland MP, Orr T, Swanson DA. 2015. Lava lake level as a gauge of magma reservoir pressure and eruptive hazard. Geology, 43:831-834. http://geology.geoscienceworld.org/content/early/2015/07/28/G36896.1.full.pdf
Patrick MR, Orr T, Sutton AJ, Lev E, Thelen W, Fee D. 2016a. Shallowly driven fluctuations in lava lake outgassing (gas pistoning), Kīlauea Volcano. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 433:326-338. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012821X15006883
Patrick MR, Swanson DA, Orr T. 2016b. Automated tracking of lava lake level using thermal images at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaiʻi. Journal of Applied Volcanology, 5:6 http://www.appliedvolc.com/content/5/1/6
Patrick MR, Orr T, Swanson DA, Lev E. 2016c. Shallow and deep controls on lava lake surface motion at Kīlauea Volcano. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 328:247-261. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2016.11.010
Patrick MR, Orr TR, Swanson DA, Elias T, Shiro B. 2018. Lava lake activity at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano in 2016: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2018–5008, 58 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20185008.
Patrick MR, Swanson DA, Orr T. 2019a. A review of controls on lava lake level: insights from Halemaʻumaʻu Crater, Kīlauea Volcano. Bulletin of Volcanology, 81 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-019-1268-y
Patrick MR, Younger EF, Tollett W. 2019b. Lava level and crater geometry data during the 2018 lava lake draining at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaii. U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9MJY24N.
Patrick MR, Orr T, Anderson K, Swanson DA. 2019c. Eruptions in sync: Improved constraints on Kīlauea Volcano's hydraulic connection. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 507:50-61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2018.11.030
Patrick M, Orr T, Swanson D, Houghton B, Wooten K, Desmither L, Parcheta C, Fee D. 2021. Kīlauea’s 2008–2018 summit lava lake—Chronology and eruption insights, chap. A of Patrick M, Orr T, Swanson D, and Houghton B, eds., The 2008–2018 summit lava lake at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1867, 50 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/pp1867A.
Wilson D, Elias T, Orr T, Patrick M, Sutton AJ, Swanson D. 2008. Small explosion from new vent at Kīlauea’s summit, EOS, 89, 203.
Wright TL, Klein FW. 2014. Two hundred years of magma transport and storage at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaiʻi, 1790–2008. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1806, 240 p., 9 appendixes, http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/pp1806.
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| @type | dcat:Dataset |
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| accessLevel | public |
| bureauCode |
[ "010:12" ] |
| contactPoint |
{ "fn": "Matthew Patrick", "@type": "vcard:Contact", "hasEmail": "mailto:mpatrick@usgs.gov" } |
| description | The 2008-2018 eruption at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, Island of Hawaiʻi, provided a unique opportunity to study lava lake behavior due to the accessibility and robust monitoring network (Patrick and others, 2021). During the eruption, the lava lake rose in elevation and enlarged, eventually reaching about 300 m in diameter. The lake exhibited frequent oscillations in elevation due to outgassing and magma reservoir pressure fluctuations (Patrick and others, 2015; 2019a), as well as continuous spattering and sporadic rockfall-triggered explosions (Orr and others, 2013). A major component of the monitoring of the eruption was a continuously operating thermal camera (named “HTcam”) situated on the crater rim above the lake (Patrick and others, 2014). This camera captured an image every 5 seconds for most of the eruption (2010-2018), and produced the largest imaging dataset of lava lake activity that we are aware of, anywhere on Earth. The camera was eventually destroyed in May 2018 during the summit collapse events associated with the destructive eruption on the lower East Rift Zone (Neal and others, 2019; Patrick and others, 2019b). This data release includes the entirety of data collected by the HTcam. The data files are organized by year and month. The image data are in a binary format that can be easily opened with programs such as Python or Matlab. We have included a data details document that has information on the location and viewing geometry of the camera, as well as example code to show how to open the image files. These images, particularly when integrated with ground deformation and seismic data (Patrick and others, 2016a,c; 2019a), provide a robust dataset that may be explored more deeply for further insight into lava lake dynamics and basaltic eruption behavior. References: Mulliken KM, Kauahikaua JP, Swanson DA, Zoeller MH. 2024. Chronology of recent volcanic activity on the Island of Hawai‘i, Hawaii. U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9V3NQYB Nadeau PA, Hurwitz S, Peek S, Lerner AH, Younger EF, Patrick MR, Damby DE, McCleskey RB, Kelly PJ. 2024. Chemistry, growth and fate of the unique, short-lived (2019-2020) water lake at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaii. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 25, https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GC011154 Neal CA, Brantley SR, Antolik L, Babb J, Burgess M, Calles K, Cappos M, Chang JC, Conway S, Desmither L, Dotray P, Elias T, Fukunaga P, Fuke S, Johanson IA, Kamibayashi K, Kauahikaua J, Lee RL, Pekalib S, Miklius A, Million W, Moniz CJ, Nadeau PA, Okubo P, Parcheta C, Patrick MR, Shiro B, Swanson DA, Tollett W, Trusdell F, Younger EF, Zoeller MH, Montgomery-Brown EK, Anderson KR, Poland MP, Ball J, Bard J, Coombs M, Dietterich HR, Kern C, Thelen WA, Cervelli PF, Orr T, Houghton BF, Gansecki C, Hazlett R, Lundgren P, Diefenbach AK, Lerner AH, Waite G, Kelly P, Clor L, Werner C, Mulliken K, Fisher G. 2019. The 2018 rift eruption and summit collapse of Kīlauea Volcano: Science 363:367-374. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aav7046 Orr TR, Thelen WA, Patrick MR, Swanson DA, Wilson DC. 2013. Explosive eruptions triggered by rockfalls at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaiʻi. Geology, 41:207-210 Orr T, Poland MP, Patrick MR, Thelen WA, Sutton AJ, Elias T, Thornber CR, Parcheta C, Wooten KM. 2015. Kīlauea’s 5-9 March 2011 Kamoamoa fissure eruption and its relation to 30+ years of activity from Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. In: Carey R, Poland M, Cayol V, Weis D, (eds) Hawaiian Volcanism: From Source to Surface: Hoboken, New Jersey, Wiley, American Geophysical Union Geophysical Monograph 208, p. 393-420. Patrick MR, Orr T. 2018. Operational tracking of lava lake surface motion at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i,: U.S. Geological Survey Techniques and Methods 13-A3, 12 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/tm13A3. Patrick M., Orr T, Antolik L, Lee L., Kamibayashi K. 2014. Continuous monitoring of Hawaiian volcanoes with thermal cameras. Journal of Applied Volcanology, 3:1. http://www.appliedvolc.com/content/3/1/1 Patrick MR, Anderson KR, Poland MP, Orr T, Swanson DA. 2015. Lava lake level as a gauge of magma reservoir pressure and eruptive hazard. Geology, 43:831-834. http://geology.geoscienceworld.org/content/early/2015/07/28/G36896.1.full.pdf Patrick MR, Orr T, Sutton AJ, Lev E, Thelen W, Fee D. 2016a. Shallowly driven fluctuations in lava lake outgassing (gas pistoning), Kīlauea Volcano. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 433:326-338. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012821X15006883 Patrick MR, Swanson DA, Orr T. 2016b. Automated tracking of lava lake level using thermal images at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaiʻi. Journal of Applied Volcanology, 5:6 http://www.appliedvolc.com/content/5/1/6 Patrick MR, Orr T, Swanson DA, Lev E. 2016c. Shallow and deep controls on lava lake surface motion at Kīlauea Volcano. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 328:247-261. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2016.11.010 Patrick MR, Orr TR, Swanson DA, Elias T, Shiro B. 2018. Lava lake activity at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano in 2016: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2018–5008, 58 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20185008. Patrick MR, Swanson DA, Orr T. 2019a. A review of controls on lava lake level: insights from Halemaʻumaʻu Crater, Kīlauea Volcano. Bulletin of Volcanology, 81 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-019-1268-y Patrick MR, Younger EF, Tollett W. 2019b. Lava level and crater geometry data during the 2018 lava lake draining at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaii. U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9MJY24N. Patrick MR, Orr T, Anderson K, Swanson DA. 2019c. Eruptions in sync: Improved constraints on Kīlauea Volcano's hydraulic connection. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 507:50-61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2018.11.030 Patrick M, Orr T, Swanson D, Houghton B, Wooten K, Desmither L, Parcheta C, Fee D. 2021. Kīlauea’s 2008–2018 summit lava lake—Chronology and eruption insights, chap. A of Patrick M, Orr T, Swanson D, and Houghton B, eds., The 2008–2018 summit lava lake at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1867, 50 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/pp1867A. Wilson D, Elias T, Orr T, Patrick M, Sutton AJ, Swanson D. 2008. Small explosion from new vent at Kīlauea’s summit, EOS, 89, 203. Wright TL, Klein FW. 2014. Two hundred years of magma transport and storage at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaiʻi, 1790–2008. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1806, 240 p., 9 appendixes, http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/pp1806. |
| distribution |
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| identifier | http://datainventory.doi.gov/id/dataset/USGS_67fe2ea0d4be0201e1518b28 |
| keyword |
[ "Halema`uma`u", "Island of Hawai`i", "Kaluapele", "Kilauea", "Lava lake", "Thermal camera", "USGS:67fe2ea0d4be0201e1518b28", "Volcano Monitoring", "geoscientificInformation" ] |
| modified | 2026-06-22T00:00:00Z |
| publisher |
{ "name": "U.S. Geological Survey", "@type": "org:Organization" } |
| spatial | -155.29226, 19.39407, -155.27012, 19.41933 |
| theme |
[ "geospatial" ] |
| title | Continuous thermal camera images of summit lava lake activity at Kīlauea volcano, Island of Hawaiʻi, 2010-2018 |