Scientists in Hawaii have captured rare images of blue flames burning from cracks in the pavement as Kilauea volcano gushes fountains of lava in the background, offering a look at a new dimension in the volcano's weeks-long eruption.

The volcano produces methane when hot lava buries and burns plants and trees. The gas flows through the ground and up through existing cracks.

"It's very dramatic. It's very eerie," Jim Kauahikaua, a U.S. Geological Survey scientist, told reporters. He said it was just the second time he's ever seen blue flames during an eruption.