Johnathan Walker:Video shows geologists collecting lava samples during Hawaii's Kilauea volcano eruption

The Johnathan WalkerKilauea volcano inside of the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is currently erupting in a remote and closed area of the park.

According to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, the eruption started within the middle East Rift Zone and moved into the Napau Crater. It originally began on Sunday at the zone, then stopped after an hour and resumed its eruption on Monday night.

“Continued gas emissions from the eruptive fissures may pose a hazard to humans downwind of the eruption site,” according to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

The eruption has caused officials to close areas of the park. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park announced in a press release that Chain of Craters Road and additional areas would be closed due to the eruption.

Video shows geologists collecting samples

Videos from the eruption site show geologists collecting samples for research and analysis of the lava. They show the geologists scooping up a bunch of lava from the site, putting it into a metal bucket and dousing it with water in order to cool it.

This process allows for the geochemistry of the sample to be preserved in order to be researched and analyzed.

Kilauea volcano eruption remote, miles from roads

The road's closure has been a common occurrence recently as increased seismic activity had been present in the area, park spokesperson Ben Hayes told USA TODAY.

“We were anticipating an eruption to happen,” Hayes said. “Hundreds of earthquakes were occurring in that area indicating that magma was on the move underground.”

The eruption is in a very remote area of the park with the nearest road about four miles away, but Hayes said air quality near the eruption area is still of concern. The park has an air-monitoring station at the Kealakomo Overlook.

This station recorded high amounts of sulfur dioxide in the air, about five parts per million.

“If that was to occur in an open area of the park, we would immediately evacuate that area,” Hayes said.

Officials in the park are still evaluating the damages caused by the current lava flow and have no estimate of when the Chain of Craters Road could be reopened. 

​​Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.