Images
March 17, 2025 - Volcanic Activity in Hawai'i
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The thirteenth episode of Kilauea’s current eruption was sputtering to a pause on March 11, 2025, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this true-color image of Hawai’i’s most active volcano.
Volcanic gas and ash rise from the volcano and drift to the southeast in this image. At the same time, a red “hot spot” marks an area where the thermal bands on MODIS detected high temperatures. In this case, the hot spot is caused by lava flows which, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), covered over 60 percent of the Halemaʻumaʻu crater during episode 13. Lava flows unrelated to the episode 13 eruption also continued to spread on the eastern side of Halemaʻumaʻu.
The current eruption began on December 23, 2024, accompanied by seismic activity and lava fountaining. Since that time, the eruption has pulsed with 13 separate “episodes”, each lasting days or nearly a week and each featuring lava fountaining and strong deflation of the summit region. Pauses between the fountaining episodes have been marked by an immediate change from deflation to inflation as the magma chamber recharges and repressurizes, according to the USGS.
Episode 13 ended on March 11 at 3:13 p.m. local time, while the vents continue to degas and to glow at night. As of March 16, re-inflation of the summit has led USGS to predict that the next episode is likely to begin within the next 2-4 days.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 3/11/2025
Resolutions:
1km (91.2 KB), 500m (235.6 KB), 250m (406 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response3/5/2025 Team, NASA GSFC
The thirteenth episode of Kilauea’s current eruption was sputtering to a pause on March 11, 2025, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this true-color image of Hawai’i’s most active volcano.
Volcanic gas and ash rise from the volcano and drift to the southeast in this image. At the same time, a red “hot spot” marks an area where the thermal bands on MODIS detected high temperatures. In this case, the hot spot is caused by lava flows which, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), covered over 60 percent of the Halemaʻumaʻu crater during episode 13. Lava flows unrelated to the episode 13 eruption also continued to spread on the eastern side of Halemaʻumaʻu.
The current eruption began on December 23, 2024, accompanied by seismic activity and lava fountaining. Since that time, the eruption has pulsed with 13 separate “episodes”, each lasting days or nearly a week and each featuring lava fountaining and strong deflation of the summit region. Pauses between the fountaining episodes have been marked by an immediate change from deflation to inflation as the magma chamber recharges and repressurizes, according to the USGS.
Episode 13 ended on March 11 at 3:13 p.m. local time, while the vents continue to degas and to glow at night. As of March 16, re-inflation of the summit has led USGS to predict that the next episode is likely to begin within the next 2-4 days.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 3/11/2025
Resolutions:
1km (91.2 KB), 500m (235.6 KB), 250m (406 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response3/5/2025 Team, NASA GSFC
