Restless Kīlauea Launches Lava and Ash

Kīlauea’s episode 43 flared on March 10, 2026, with high lava fountains and widespread ash dispersal. From about 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time, lava issued from two vents on the southwest side of Halema‘uma‘u Crater, producing fountains estimated at 1,770 feet (540 meters) and sending ash and other debris as far as 50 miles (80 kilometers).

Roughly four hours after fountaining subsided, the Landsat 9 satellite passed over the island and captured shortwave‑infrared and near‑infrared data with its OLI instrument at 10:20 p.m. local time on March 10 (08:20 UTC on March 11). The thermal signal from still‑sizzling lava was layered over a composite of daytime Landsat imagery and a digital elevation model.

The episode yielded about 16 million cubic yards (12 million cubic meters) of lava, bringing the total erupted since December 2024 to nearly 325 million cubic yards (250 million cubic meters); lava depth in the crater has increased by roughly 300 feet (90 meters).

kīlauea, halema‘uma‘u, episode 43, lava fountains, ash dispersal, landsat 9, oli instrument, shortwave infrared, lava volume, crater depth