In these pictures researchers work on the top of the 4,000ft Kilauea volcano. The shots were taken by local photographer G. Brad Lewis, 56, who said: 'Erupting volcanoes have always fascinated me.

Poland described the volcano as "fascinating" but reassured that it "doesn't really pose a hazard". Axial Seamount is a shield volcano, similar to Mauna Loa, the world's most active volcano ...

But as a shield volcano, Kilauea doesn’t have explosive, Mt. St. Helens-type eruptions. Instead, it emits a steady stream of fluid lava that generally flows gently down the side of the mountain ...

They're also called composite volcanoes. Mount Rainier in Washington is a famous stratovolcano. Shield volcanoes are big, broad volcanoes made up of oozy lava flows that erupt from multiple vents.