Earthquakes Pose Risk to Global Mineral Supplies
USGS scientists study how seismicity could impact mineral commodity supplies like copper and rhenium.
USGS scientists study how seismicity could impact mineral commodity supplies like copper and rhenium.
Monitoring Kīlauea Volcano's Current Eruption
Eruptions within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park have been intermittent since December 23, 2024.
Eruptions within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park have been intermittent since December 23, 2024.
Alarming Future for California's Coastline
Computer modeling and new research predict significant erosion by 2100.
Computer modeling and new research predict significant erosion by 2100.
Postfire Debris-Flow Hazard Assessments Help Manage Further Loss
This interactive dashboard shows the likelihood and potential severity for debris-flows.
This interactive dashboard shows the likelihood and potential severity for debris-flows.
Understanding Earth's Electrical Conductivity Helps Protect from Space Weather
The study can also help support mineral and geothermal resource assessment.
The study can also help support mineral and geothermal resource assessment.
Rapid Response Seismometers Help Scientists Assess Hazards
Seafloor seismographs were quickly deployed following a major earthquake offshore Northern California.
Seafloor seismographs were quickly deployed following a major earthquake offshore Northern California.
New USGS-FEMA study highlights economic earthquake risk in the United States
Natural Hazards Mission Area
Every year in the United States, natural hazards threaten lives and livelihoods and result in billions of dollars in damage. We work with many partners to monitor, assess, and conduct targeted research on a wide range of natural hazards so that policymakers and the public have the understanding they need to enhance preparedness, response, and resilience.
Office of Risk and Resilience
Office of Risk and Resilience
Working to ensure that relevant and actionable USGS hazards and risk information is developed and delivered in user-friendly ways to support risk-reduction efforts at a national scale.
Subduction Zone Science
Subduction Zone Science
The most powerful earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, and volcanic eruptions occur in subduction zones, where two plates collide and one is thrust beneath another.
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News
Oceanographic Instrumentation Detects Layers of Plankton Migration off Puerto Rico
Oceanographic Instrumentation Detects Layers of Plankton Migration off Puerto Rico
Comparing Nearly 40 years of Satellite-derived Shorelines with Traditional Shoreline Measurements
Comparing Nearly 40 years of Satellite-derived Shorelines with Traditional Shoreline Measurements
Coastal Observing Cameras at America’s Northernmost Point Decommissioned Due to Coastal Erosion
Coastal Observing Cameras at America’s Northernmost Point Decommissioned Due to Coastal Erosion
Publications
Using gridded seismicity to forecast the long-term spatial distribution of earthquakes for the 2025 Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands National Seismic Hazard Model Using gridded seismicity to forecast the long-term spatial distribution of earthquakes for the 2025 Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands National Seismic Hazard Model
Gridded (or background) seismicity models are a critical component of probabilistic seismic hazard assessments, accounting for off‐fault and smaller‐magnitude earthquakes. They are typically developed by declustering and spatially smoothing an earthquake catalog to estimate a long‐term seismicity rate that can be used to forecast future earthquakes. Here, we present new gridded...
High frequency and region-scale simulations of large (Mw7+) earthquakes on the southern Whidbey Island fault, Washington, USA High frequency and region-scale simulations of large (Mw7+) earthquakes on the southern Whidbey Island fault, Washington, USA
We simulate ground shaking in western Washington State from hypothetical Mw7.0–7.5 earthquakes on the southern Whidbey Island fault (SWIF). Ground motions are modeled considering kinematic source distributions on a complex fault plane, a 3D seismic velocity model, and region‐specific soil velocity models. We run simulations with varying model resolutions, including regional‐scale...
Memory and jamming in fault zone sediments Memory and jamming in fault zone sediments
Many subsurface processes involve transitions in granular material states, from arrested to creeping to flowing. Experiments and frameworks for idealized systems reveal that granular fabrics develop during shearing, co-evolve with applied stress, and govern such transitions. We use microtomography to test whether fabrics at two San Andreas fault sites reflect slip history and whether...
Science
Alaska Science Center Weekly Findings
Recent findings by USGS Alaska Science Center staff and their collaborators.
2025 M7.0 Hubbard Glacier Earthquake-Triggered Landslides and Snow Avalanches
A M7.0 oblique-slip earthquake initiated about 10 km below the Hubbard Glacier in the St. Elias Mountains about 88 km north of Yakutat, Alaska, at approximately 11:40am AKST (1:40pm YST) on December 6, 2025. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Ground Failure product estimated that landslides triggered by this earthquake would likely be significant in number and/or spatial extent. This was confirmed...
Severe Magnetic Storm - November 11, 2025
November 11, 2025, 22:00 Eastern Standard Time