Lake blue water at the bottom of the most active volcano in Hawaii

The researchers first discovered a small blue lake at the Halema'uma'u nozzle of Kīlauea volcano in late July.

The lake in the shot above on July 25 (left) and 1/8 (right).(Photo: Newsweek).

The shot from above shows the blue lake at the bottom of the spray mouth of Halema'uma'u , about the size of a pickup truck. The discovery made the team confused because there has never been a record of the volcanic lake before, according to Don Swanson, a scientist at the Hawaii Volcanic Observatory.

Kīlauea is the strongest of the 4 volcanoes that make up the Hawaiian Islands. After the first photo, the helicopter collected data about Kīlauea capturing the lake to confirm previous observations. But the research team on the helicopter did not see a reflection, an important sign indicating that water exists.

Halema'uma'u crater.(Photo: Newsweek).

"Another possibility is that green comes from a flat surface lying beneath the ash or dust falling from the rock at Halema'uma'u's wall and stuck at the bottom of the crater. Green may be due to minerals. contains sulfur or algae, but this hypothesis is not convincing because large rocks near the lake have no ash covered and are less green , " Swanson said.

On August 1, the researchers flew through the crater to observe the lake more closely. This time, they saw reflection on the lake surface, helping to confirm in the lake water. The lake is in an extremely difficult position to reach deep inside the volcano and is almost impossible to observe from the crater rim. According to Swanson, the next step is to understand the origin of the lake.