Lava from a vent in Kilauea Volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii began flowing into the ocean 7 miles away on Saturday. The volcano has been erupting continuously from its Pu'u O'o vent since 1983.
Hugh Gentry / Reuters
A plume of smoke rises from the volcanic activity in Kilauea crater on November 27, 2012.
Janet Babb, spokeswoman for the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, warned of potentially deadly risks and urged visitors to stay a safe distance away and respect barriers placed around the lava flow.
"Ocean entries can be quite beautiful but also quite dangerous," Babb said. Read the full story.
The lava lake casts red light at Kīlauea's summit at sunset. The lake is about 138 ft below the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu on Oct. 18.
By Becky Oskin, OurAmazingPlanet
The steaming lava lake in a vent near the summit of Hawaii's Mount Kilauea recently hit its highest level since the vent opened in 2008, according to the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.
The record was reached Oct. 14, when the lava rose to within 150 to 165 feet of the top of the nearly vertical vent, the USGS said. The lava continues to fluctuate but has remained high over the past few days, said Jim Kauahikaua, scientist-in-charge of the HVO.
A close up of the surface of the lava lake at Kīlauea's summit on Oct. 18. The lake is about 138 ft below the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu.
Tim Orr / USGS
The lava lake in the 'overlook' vent in Halemaʻumaʻu reached to within 124.7 feet of the crater floor, filling the entire bottom of the vent on Oct. 19.
Former United States Navy ship Kilauea breaking apart and sinking following a torpedo attack from the Australian Collins Class submarine HMAS Farncomb, on the Pacific Missile Range Facility off Hawaii during the RIMPAC 2012 exercise. Photo made available to NBC News on July 24, 2012.
By David R Arnott, NBC News
An Australian submarine sunk a former U.S. warship with a torpedo attack off Hawaii on Sunday as part of the world's largest international maritime exercise.
HMAS Farncomb fired a Mark 48 Torpedo into the Kilauea's hull, striking the ship below the bridge.
The Kilauea was an ammunition ship commissioned in August 1968, decommissioned and transferred to MSC in October 1980 and deactivated in September 2008.
One of the more vigorous vents in Kilauea's Pu'u 'O'o Crater, seen at lower left, is topped by a 20-foot-tall spatter cone. The flow from this vent cascades down several steps, joining the flow from two other nearby vents, before going under a small bridge and into the broad area of ponded lava to the west.
By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News
Hawaii's Kilauea volcano is doing a slow burn while the world watches.
Kilauea isn't the kind of volcano that blows its top — as Washington state's Mount St. Helens did in 1980, or as Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano did last year, or as Alaska's Cleveland Volcano is starting to do. Instead, lava rises from fissures on Kilauea, which is part of a national park on Hawaii's Big Island.
The volcano's Pu'u 'O'o cone has been erupting since 1983 with few interruptions. Last week, the U.S. Geological Survey reported a fresh breakout of lava. This video shows what happens as the bright orange lava erupts from spatter cones, then cools and moves down slope:
This Aug. 8 video from the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory shows lava flowing on the west slope of Pu'u 'O'o crater.
According to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, this current phase of the Kilauea activity, known as the Kamoamoa fissure eruption, began on March 5 when lava began fountaining between the Pu'u 'O'o and Napau craters. When the fountaining stopped, lava began building in Pu'u 'O'o, forming the molten lake that drained in a dramatic collapse on Aug. 3.
After the collapse of the crater floor on Aug. 3, Pu'u 'O'o has been filled with thick fume. A very tiny flow, visible only with a thermal camera, was active on the crater floor.
USGS
This thermal image, looking southwest, shows the very small flow active in the bottom of Pu'u 'O'o crater. In the upper right, the active flows on the lower west flank of Pu'u 'O'o can be seen.
USGS
This view, looking east, shows the broad area of ponded lava fed by two main channels originating from several individual vents. The fume-filled Pu'u 'O'o Crater is in the background. The darker lava in the foreground is from the Kamoamoa eruption in March.
Lava flows on the Pu'u O'o crater on Kilauea volcano in Hawaii on Sunday.
Tim Wright / AP
Scientists fly in a helicopter above the Pu'u O'o vent on Kilauea volcano on Sunday. Scientists say the Pu'u O'o crater floor has collapsed and an eruption occurred along the middle of Kilauea Volcano's east rift zone. Scientists at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory say after a fissure broke out around 5 p.m. Saturday, lava was seen erupting up to 65 feet high.
USGS via AFP - Getty Images
Lava pours from the Pu'u O'o vent on Kilauea volcano on Sunday. Scientists say the Pu'u O'o crater floor has collapsed and an eruption occurred along Kilauea's eastern rift zone.
A new vent has opened in the Kilauea volcano on the Big Island, shooting fiery lava 65 feet into the air. TODAY's Natalie Morales has more details.
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