Kilauea, Hawaii – On November 21, scientists from the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory carried out an aerial overflight of the eruptive vent complex at the summit of Kilauea.

During the flight, roiling lava ponds were visible in both the north and south vents. In an aerial photo taken looking down from the north, the north vent’s incandescent pond is only barely visible.

A couple of hours after the overflight, both vents overflowed for the first time. The overflows occurred ahead of the eruption’s likely thirty-seventh lava fountaining episode, which is forecast for the coming days.

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