This thermal timelapse shows the switch from water lake to lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u, spanning December 20 to December 24.
During the initial phase of lava appearing in the crater, a large steam plume is generated as lava interacts with and boils off the water lake.
The temperature scale in this initial phase is saturated, but the camera settings were later changed to accommodate the much higher temperatures of the new lava in the crater.
The sequence also shows the early evolution of a lava lake - a process rarely observed in detail.
An island formed at the bottom of the crater in the initial stages is rafted up by the new lava, and continues to drift in the lake currents today.
As the lava fills the crater, it has approached the level of the main fountaining vent, which could soon be submerged.
Temperature scale is in degrees Celsius.