On Tuesday, Kilauea volcano in Hawaii began erupting again, with lava shooting up to 330 feet (100 meters) in the air from its summit crater. This marks the 32nd episode of the volcano releasing molten rock since the beginning of its current eruption phase in December 2024. So far, all of the lava from this eruption has been confined to the summit crater inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
Lava was first seen emerging from the north vent in Halemaʻumaʻu crater after midnight, with the vent starting to eject fountains of lava at 6:35 AM, as reported by the US Geological Survey. By mid-morning, the eruption was also happening from the crater’s south vent and a third vent located in between.
According to Ken Hon, the scientist in charge at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, a lower magma chamber beneath the Halemaʻumaʻu crater is directly receiving magma from the earth’s interior at a rate of about 5 cubic yards (3.8 cubic meters) per second. This causes the chamber to expand like a balloon and forces magma into an upper chamber. From there, it is pushed to the surface through cracks.
Magma has been rising to the surface through the same pathway since December, making all releases part of the same eruption, Hon stated. Many of these episodes have featured lava soaring into the air, sometimes over 1,000 feet (300 meters) high. The rising magma, which contains gasses, travels through narrow, pipe-like vents, contributing to the generation of fountains as the gasses are released.
The current eruption is the fourth time in 200 years that Kilauea has had repeated episodes of shooting lava fountains into the air. Previous episodes occurred in 1983, 1959, and 1969. Scientists are unsure how this eruption will end or change; in 1983, Kilauea opened a vent at a lower elevation and began continuously leaking lava, an event that lasted until 2018. Today, scientists use sensors to predict when lava is likely to emerge, though the exact mechanics of the volcano remain complex to understand.
Steve Lundblad, a geology professor at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, noted that the lava fountains have been shorter recently, suggesting the vent may have widened, reducing the pressure and resulting in lower but wider eruptions. The spectacle of the eruptions will continue, but the fountains will not reach the same heights as before.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/02/hawaii-kilauea-volcano-erupt-lava
