A massive, iron-rich structure sitting at the base of Earth’s mantle beneath the Hawaiian Islands may be doing more than scientists previously understood to fuel the archipelago’s volcanic activity. New seismic and geochemical research is building a clearer picture of this deep anomaly,

Large lava fountains erupted from the north and south vents Jan. 24 within Halemaʻumaʻu Crater — reaching heights of at least 1,475 feet — during Episode 41 of the ongoing episodic eruption at Kīlauea’s summit.

When referred to as a gas, it means a volatile has transitioned into the vapor phase. The most common gases (or vapor phase volatiles) emitted at the surface are water (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), and sulfur dioxide (SO2).

In the neighborhoods near the Kīlauea volcano, volcanic debris crushes under foot and car, crunching with every step. The 41st episode of the Big Island’s latest eruption threw ash and tephra, a general word for volcanic debris, thousands of feet in the air and the Kona winds sent it as far as Hilo over 20 miles away.

Many Hawaiʻi Island communities downwind from the eruptive vents in the southwest portion of Halemaʻumaʻu Crater inside the summit caldera of Kīlauea have been affected by tephra fall since the episodic eruption and its lava fountains began Dec. 23, 2024.