Measuring Lava Lakes

From the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS):

Measuring Lava Lakes — HVO geologist uses a laser rangefinder to measure the depth of the lava lake at the summit of Kīlauea in the Overlook crater. On April 8th, the lake level was about 58 m (190 ft) below the crater rim that afternoon. In previous days the lake level had dropped about 35 m (115 ft) as tiltmeters at the summit have recorded a larger than usual deflationary trend. The spattering of the lava lake (middle right of photograph) was triggered by a small rockfall from the north crater wall directly above. Large rockfalls into the lake typically cause small explosions that hurl molten lava onto the rim of Halemaʻumaʻu Crater, one of the hazards of this area. The tripod in lower right supports one of the webcams used to track activity of the lava lake.

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