skip to main content

Kilauea: Summit vent still steaming away

Discover the latest on Kilauea summit vent activity, where steam and volcanic clasts are captivating photographers at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.

Written byErik Klemetti
| 1 min read
Follow on GoogleGoogle News Preferred Source
Placeholder image

Newsletter

Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science news

Sign Up
Placeholder image showing Earth from space with an alert icon and the message ‘This image is no longer available.’

Not much in the way of science to add here, but photographers at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park are still busy around the clock documenting the summit vent activity at Kilauea that started in March. Most of the activity is steam escaping from the vent, but at night, the vent glows red, proving just how close to the surface the magma is right now. Occasionally, the volcano throws out some volcanic clasts, probably in phreatomagmatic (water/magma interaction) explosions. The USGS Hawaii Volcano Observatory has a nice series of photos of the current activity and research as well, mostly about some of the lava that is making its way to the sea (see photo above) from the rift vents that are continuing to erupt.

Meet the Author

Related Topics

Stay Curious

JoinOur List

Sign up for our weekly science updates

View our Privacy Policy

SubscribeTo The Magazine

Save up to 40% off the cover price when you subscribe to Discover magazine.

Subscribe