The Lower East Rift Zone (LERZ) eruption in Kilauea that began on May 3, 2018 destroyed 700 structures and forced the evacuation of thousands of residents, and scientists are still studying the eruption and its effects. Influence.
The 2018 eruption was significant globally, not just for Hawaii. Kilauea shed a whopping 1.4 cubic kilometers (0.34 cubic miles) of lava in just four months. By contrast, the eruption of the Puwu Vent on the Middle East fault zone began in 1983 and lasted 35 years — discharging a total of 4.4 cubic kilometers (1.1 cubic miles) of lava and destroying 215 structures. The eruption of LERZ in 2018 also dramatically altered the volcano’s magma piping system. It ended the eruption of the longest-lasting Puʻʻōʻō vent in the world. It collapsed the ground of Halema’uma’u summit crater, lowering it by more than 500 meters (1,600 feet), and drained a lake of lava that had accumulated in the summit crater since 2008.
In July 2019, Kilauea’s lava lake was replaced by a water lake, an event unprecedented in the historical record. Over the next year and a half, water slowly filled the crater to a depth of about 50 meters (160 feet).
The water lake is of particular interest to scientists because Kilauea has an unusual history of eruptions and explosions. The latter are generally more violent and destructive, and they tend to be driven by the interaction of magma with water — a fact that makes the activity extra concerned for volcano watchers. In December 2020, however, a new phase of eruptive activity began, with a flood of lava pouring into the crater, boiling the lake within hours. That eruption of the volcano also created a new lava lake for itself, lasting until May 2021. The most recent eruption began in September 2021 and continues to this day.
The image above was acquired by Operational Land Imager-2 (OLI-2) on Landsat 9 on April 15, 2022. The image includes a combination of visible and infrared light (bands 6-5-3), which help distinguish the thermal signature of the lava.
