Volcano Watch: A sight to see; maintaining Hawaiian Volcano Observatory’s webcams during a historic eruption

“Volcano Watch” is a weekly article and activity update written by Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists and affiliates.

Visual observations have been a backbone of volcano research more than 2,000 years and remain fundamental to understanding how volcanoes work.

Technological advancements — such as livestreaming cameras — even now allow eruptions to be viewed from around the world.

Pliny the Younger described the towering eruption plume from the 79 A.D. eruption of Vesuvius near Pompeii as having “a very long trunk, and it then spread out … like branches.”

He tried to infer the mechanisms behind the plume’s changing appearance and his words were so impactful that volcanologists today refer to such plumes as “Plinian.”

Native Hawaiians witnessed countless eruptions and cycles of activity at Kīlauea’s summit throughout the centuries, and from these observations deduced how magma is transported within the volcano.

Early missionary Artemus Bishop was told by his Hawaiian guide in 1826 while standing at Kaluapele — Kīlauea’s summit caldera — that if the crater continued to fill with lava as it had been recently, it would “discharge itself as formerly towards the sea, through some aperture underground.”

Visual observations are still just as crucial for understanding how volcanoes work, despite today’s arrays of high-tech equipment such as seismometers and GPS.

But trail mix and coffee can only sustain field geologists so long.

Continuous observations by the naked eye usually aren’t practical; however, webcams can provide 24/7 watch of the volcano. They’ve become an indispensable tool for monitoring during the past 2 decades.

Most webcams used by Hawaiian Volcano Observatory take a snapshot every few minutes to conserve bandwidth, but three are now livestreaming — meaning they transmit real-time video to the public.

All three have been a vital part of monitoring lava fountains during Kīlauea’s ongoing episodic summit eruption that started Dec. 23, 2024.

The original livestreaming camera V1cam went online in 2023. Hawaiian Volcano Observatory staff during the past year added the V2cam and V3cam to provide different angles of the eruption.

Each of these viewpoints around the summit caldera has its strengths and weaknesses, but together they provide excellent “situational awareness” of precursory overflows and high lava fountains that comprise each episode.

Maintaining these cameras can be a lot of work, and Hawaiian Volcano Observatory field engineers, information technology specialists and geologists keep a close eye on them to make sure they are operating efficiently.

Upgrades have been needed, too, and livestream viewers will occasionally see observatory staff — normally in high-visibility yellow or orange — in front of the camera adjusting things.

Sometimes the telecommunications equipment needs an upgrade, or the camera’s internal data storage cards needed swapped out. We are still working on testing microphones, which are challenging because of high winds around the caldera rim.

One livestream camera — the V3cam — was destroyed by the lava fountain from the south vent Dec. 6, 2025, during Episode 38. The broad arcing fountain extended more than 600 yards and buried the camera under 10 yards of tephra.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory staff members were able to deploy a new V3cam in a safer spot relatively quickly because we maintain a cache of monitoring equipment that can be deployed rapidly for eruption response.

Livestreaming cameras allow viewers around the world to experience Hawaiian volcanism, even from the comfort of their homes — certainly more comfortable than the cold wind and rain volcano watchers on the caldera rim experienced Feb. 15 during Episode 42.

If you’re in a restaurant in Hilo or elsewhere on Hawai‘i Island, you might even see one of the livestream views up on a TV screen.

Livestreams also provide volcanic activity lessons that, in many ways, are better than any textbook or lecture. Viewers can watch patterns of activity unfold and test hypotheses.

There is no replacement for watching something with your own eyes — even with the help of a webcam. It follows the Hawaiian proverb “I ka nānā no a ‘ike,” or “By observing, one learns.”

Livestream cameras are also popular at Etna (Italy), Merapi and Semeru (Indonesia) and Fuego (Guatemala), among other volcanoes, helping countless people around the world witness how dynamic the Earth can be.

Perhaps someday, a young livestream viewer will help us better understand some aspect of volcanic activity and, like Pliny, lend their own name to the field of volcanology.

VOLCANO ACTIVITY UPDATES

KĪLAUEA

VOLCANO ALERT LEVEL: Watch

Kīlauea has erupted episodically within its summit caldera since Dec. 23, 2024. Episode 42 lava fountaining Feb. 15 happened for just less than 10 hours. No unusual activity has been noted along Kīlauea’s East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone.

WHAT’S NEXT? Summit region inflation since the end of Episode 42 indicates another lava fountaining episode is possible. Preliminary models suggest Episode 43 could erupt between March 5 and 20.

MAUNA LOA

VOLCANO ALERT LEVEL: Normal

Mauna Loa is not erupting. Check out the most recent monthly report about activity at Mauna Loa on the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory website.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory continues to closely monitor Kīlauea and Mauna Loa.

EARTHQUAKES

One earthquake was reported felt during the past week in the Hawaiian Islands:

• MAGNITUDE-3.4 at 2:51 p.m. 29 miles west-southwest of Kailua-Kona at a depth of 2 miles.

Visit the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory website for past “Volcano Watch” articles, Kīlauea and Mauna Loa updates, volcano photos, maps, recent earthquake information and more. Email questions to askHVO@usgs.gov.