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Eruption of Kilauea on the Big Island of Hawai`i

By Scott Bachmeier •

GOES-18 Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm, left) and Fire Mask derived product (right), from 1201 UTC on 23rd December to 0006 UTC on 24th December [click to play MP4 animation]

5-minute CONUS Sector GOES-18 (GOES-West) Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm) and Fire Mask derived product images (above) displayed a pronounced thermal signature associated with an eruption of Kilauea on the Big Island of Hawai`i, which began around 1220 UTC (2:20 AM HST) on 23rd December 2024. Yellow pixels in the Fire Mask product denoted 3.9 µm brightness temperatures that had reached 137.88ºC — the saturation temperature of GOES-18 ABI Band 7 detectors — which first occurred at 1251 UTC, about 30 minutes after eruption onset.

Since the Kilauea eruption began during the nighttime hours, its thermal signature was also apparent in GOES-18 Near-Infrared 0.86 µm, 1.61 µm and 2.24 µm spectral bands (below).

GOES-18 Near-Infrared (0.86 µm, left, 1.61 µm, middle and 2.24 µm, right) images, from 1201-1631 UTC on 23rd December [click to play MP4 animation]

GOES-18 True Color RGB images from the CSPP GeoSphere site (below) showed the southwest transport of steam/CO2/SO2-rich volcanic fog (vog) from the Kilauea eruption site.

GOES-18 True Color RGB images [click to play MP4 animation]

Categories: GOES-18, Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images, Volcanic activity