Lava Glows Inside Kilauea’s Crater on Hawaii’s Big Island

The Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island erupted on the afternoon of Wednesday, September 29, for the first time since May, when an eruption that began in December 2020 came to an end, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said. Among the visitors on Thursday to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park were newlyweds Kiley and Josh Bennett, who posted several photos and this striking video taken a safe distance from the eruption at the volcano’s Halemaumau crater. “Absolutely breathtaking and unbelievable!!! A once-in-a-lifetime experience being at Volcano National Park during the unpredicted eruption!” Kiley wrote in her Instagram caption. The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said on Friday that lava was continuing “to erupt from multiple vents along the floor and western wall of Halemaumau crater,” and that “seismicity and volcanic gas emission rates” remained elevated. As the eruption was occurring within a closed area of the park, the hazard of chief concern for officials was the threat of toxic volcanic gases, including water vapor, carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide, the USGS said. “As [sulfur dioxide] is released from the summit, it reacts in the atmosphere to create the visible haze known as vog (volcanic smog) that … creates the potential for airborne health hazards to residents and visitors, damages agricultural crops and other plants, and affects livestock,” the USGS explained. Credit: Kiley K Bennett via Storyful

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