Photo & Video Chronology - Kilauea Archive

1 August 2003

Sweeping breakout 600 m from Paliuli and later aerial views

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Left. Large breakout coming from tumulus (right). Lava flows northeast and then enters sweeping curve that takes it southeast. Breakout started less than 5 minutes earlier, suddenly gushing from tumulus. At bend, channel is 3 m wide. Note person in right-center background. 0548:33. Right. From same place as left image, showing in greater detail the 3-m-wide bend in the breakout channel. Note rafts of crust with complex folds and wrinkles. 0548:54.

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Left. Same breakout as above, but viewed from east, not northeast. Breakout is waning, and more crust has formed all along channel, in particular in distal areas. 0550:05. Right. Looking up channel of breakout, showing lava emerging from under crust at front, which is 5-m wide. 0553:20.

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Left. Aerial view of recently and actively emplaced part of Kohola arm on coastal flat. Shiny, light gray rock is youngest. Note lobate pattern of flow front. Images above were taken near stringy "feelers" right (east) of tip of front. 0900. Right. View of west branch of Kohola arm, with newest strand, narrow and light gray, moving southward from main branch and nearing top of Holei Pali. Lava began flowing down Holei at 1745 later today. See large view for annotations. 0900.

3 August 2003

Lava cascades on Holei Pali

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Left. Cascades on Holei Pali viewed from coastal flat, about 500 m away. Foreground is active breakout near western margin of Kohola arm. 0524. Right. Eastern cluster of cascades--the brightest in left image--from near base of Holei Pali. Activity has waned a bit from that show in left image. Height of cascade, about 40 m. 0540.

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Left. Dawning sky overlooking cascades down Holei Pali. Relief, about 30 m. 0547. Right. Looking upstream at western cluster of cascades on Holei Pali. Relief is about 40 m. 0600.

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Left. Western cluster of cascades viewed from east. With improved light, note coating of solidified lava on pali. All of this coating was formed since 1745 August 1, when lava first started down Holei Pali. 0609. Right. Eastern cluster of cascades, same as that shown in image at 0540 but now in early morning light. Relief is about 40 m. Largest flow shown in more detail in next two images. 0613.

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Left. Lower part of flow with `a`a crust descending eastern edge of cascades on Holei Pali. Note the front of flow is about 2 m high, and that flow has `a`a crust but molten interior. 0617. Right. Close-up of front of flow in left image but taken while still dark. Width of image, about 1.5 m. 0543.

4 August 2003

Cascades continue on Holei Pali

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Left. Lava cascades on Holei Pali viewed from 500 m away. Two clusters of cascades, east and west, are evident. Height of cascades, about 40 m. 0544. Right. View from same place with telephoto. 0557.

5 August 2003

Lava does the two step: Holei and Paliuli

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Left. Looking east at small lava cascades on Paliuli. Lava comes down Holei Pali in eastern cluster of cascades fed by breakout from tube below elbow in Kohola arm. Lava then flows through tubes across slope below Holei Pali and finally meets Paliuli. 0544. Right. Lava cascades on Paliuli below western cluster of cascades on Holei Pali (background). Smoke comes from burning tree along edge of flow. Flow front at bottom of image has just reached coastal flat at base of Paliuli. Taken from same perch as left image. 0545.

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Left. Crack at top of Paliuli is filling with lava coming down slope from eastern cluster of cascades on Holei Pali. Note recent drapery on uphill side of crack. Height of drapery, about 3 m. 0558. Right. Detail of lava flowing into crack in left image. Width of flow, about 1 m. 0559.

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Left. Fan of lava building outward from Paliuli, below eastern cluster of cascades on Holei Pali. Image taken from top of Paliuli, looking southeast. 0603. Right. Photographer urging on breakout from small tumulus on slope between Holei Pali and Paliuli. 0614.

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Left. Small skylight in tube on slope below eastern cluster of cascades on Holei Pali. Lava flowing through this tube eventually descends Paliuli to fan shown in left image above. 0621. Right. Looking up western edge of western cluster of cascades on Holei Pali. Front of westernmost flow on slope above Paliuli is in foreground. Relief, about 40 m. 0632.

7 August 2003

Lava and fire on Paliuli

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Left. Looking east at glow from fire highlighting tree as lava trickles down Paliuli in eastern cluster of cascades. 0535. Right. View from top of Paliuli looking down on another burning tree and lava in flow on coastal flat below pali. 0554.

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Left. Looking northwest at same beleaguered tree as in left image above, still standing after all these minutes. 0609. Right. Lava flow on coastal flat, fed by eastern cluster of cascades, has ignited lone `ohi`a tree. Note flames in first crotch of tree as well as at base. Western cluster of cascades on Paliuli forms backdrop, with Holei Pali above. 0613.

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Left. Smoke from fires makes for nice sunrise behind burning tree (same as in right image above) along edge of new flow fed by eastern cascades on Paliuli. 0618. Right. Tip of most advanced flow on coastal flat fed by cascades on Paliuli in background. Smoke comes from same tree as in images above taken at 0535 and 0609. Western cluster of cascades is near left edge of image. 0621.

8 August 2003

Two last views of a skylight

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Left. Using laser gun to measure velocity of lava in master tube for Mother's Day flow. Multiplying velocity times cross-sectional area yields flux of lava in tube. The cross-sectional area is interpreted from measured differences in conductivity for very low frequency radio signals passing across the tube. This skylight, called Okita Nuevo, was filled during breakout early the next day; see middle and lower right images for August 9. 1207. Right. Another view of Okita Nuevo skylight.

9 August 2003

Breakout after inflation

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Left. Lava issuing from breakout point on north side of rootless shield built on January 21 about 1.3 km southwest of center of Pu`u `O`o's crater. Breakout started between 0200 and 0257. Note figure in yellow raincoat just left of fume puff. 0606. Right. Looking left (downstream) from point of left image, showing lava moving in breakout. 0607.

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Left. It is never too wet to tape a good scene. This image shows all-night videographer documenting new breakout after abrupt inflation of Pu`u `O`o. 0707. Right. Raincoated-figure examines crusted pad of lava choking former skylight--Okita Nuevo--on Mother's Day flow. This skylight was open before breakout started and is shown in images for August 8. 0744.

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Left. Edge of new breakout, sheetflow-like, covering older lava flow. Amount of steam indicates how wet it is.  Right. Another view of lava that welled from Okita Nuevo skylight and now obscures the view into the tube below.

14 August 2003

West-side breakouts

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Left. Small breakout from active west lobe of Kohola arm of Mother's Day flow on coastal flat. Holei Pali in background. Lava is flowing across older part of Kohola, formed in February-March. 0547. Right. Two-part breakout. Note lava is emerging between two plates of crust as well as at downstream end. Isolated section of crust formed and then split away from rest of crust as lava issued from crack behind it. Length of flowing lava, about 2.5 m. 0549.

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Left. Lazy sacks of lava spilling onto older surface from Kohola arm. Each sack, or toe, is a few tens of centimeters across. Pulama pali and lower Paliuli in background. 0602. Right. Finger of lava flowing into depression from under 2-m-wide skin. 0603.

15 August 2003

Small hornitos above upper Mother's Day tube

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Left. Tiny hornitos (carlitos) in front of small hornito, roof of Mother's Day tube in area of former Cookie Monster skylight. Incandescent openings are a few centimeters across. 0938. Right. Closer view of tiny hornito in obviously treacherous area. Such hornitos form by spitting of lava out of tube below. Pele's hair sometimes forms by this process. Coarse hair is visible in large image. 0941.

Map shows lava flows erupted during 1983-present activity of Pu`u `O`o and Kupaianaha (see large map). Red colors, both dark and light, denote Mother's Day flow, which began erupting on May 12, 2002 and continues to the present. The darkest color represents flows active since January 21, 2003.

Most recent--and ongoing--activity has produced two flows, one along western edge of flow field and one slightly farther east. Kohola flow, along western margin, entered sea late on Valentine's Day to form short-lived Kohola ocean entry. This flow shortened the road still more. Visitors now can drive to Holei Sea Arch, 1.1 km from Kohola flow, and walk to see flow. Breakouts have been visible in various parts of Kohola flow, shifting from time to time across width and length of flow.

Other dark red flow is main active part of Mother's Day flow. Fed by breakouts from lava tube in main Mother's Day flow, it advanced along eastern margin of main flow and down Pulama pali and Paliuli. Western of two forks below Paliuli dripped over sea cliff at Highcastle on May 19, 2003, after map was made.

Lava from earlier, pre-January 21, 2003 Mother's Day flow (light red) reached sea at West Highcastle early on July 19, at Wilipe`a early on July 21, and at Highcastle on August 8. From near southwest base of Pu`u `O`o, Mother's Day flow passes along west side of flow field and into forest, where it started large wildfire in May that continued into late July. By June 10, Mother's Day flow had reached base of Paliuli, the steep slope and cliff below Pulama pali and just above coastal flat. At base of Paliuli, Mother's Day flow abruptly spread laterally in series of small budding flows to cover an area nearly 2 km wide, gradually moving seaward until West Highcastle and Wilipe`a lobes finally reached water and started building lava deltas. Activity at West Highcastle ended in early August, but entry began soon thereafter at Highcastle, eventually burying tiny kipuka of Chain of Craters Road. Wilipe`a entry died away slowly and had ended by mid-August. Highcastle and neighboring Highcastle Stairs entries ended on about August 23. For a time there were no active entries. Then Wilipe`a was reactivated on September 3 but stopped in December. West Highcastle likewise renewed activity on September 16-17, died away during night of September 18-19, and returned soon thereafter to continue through March 21. East arm of Mother's Day flow branched from Highcastle lobe in late October and sent three fingers into ocean at Highcastle on November 15, West Lae`apuki on November 19, and Lae`apuki on November 20. Lae`apuki entries had stopped by November 29. If this sounds like soap opera, the truth is even more confusing than the simplified version of activity given here.

Eruption-viewing opportunities change constantly, refer to the HVO home page for current information. Those readers planning a visit to Kilauea or Mauna Loa volcanoes can get much useful information from Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.