Images

A USGS scientist surveys GPS Ground Control Point locations on North Topsail Beach and within the Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base, North Carolina. These data are used to validate previously surveyed aerial imagery and aid in Structure from Motion (SFM) processing. Specifically, this scientist was collecting data to look at coastal change due to Hurricane Florence.

The photo above has been cropped here to better show agitation on the pond surface. The agitation could be due to escaping gases from below rising through the water, or from the water boiling, or, perhaps, a combination of both.

USGS researchers have been monitoring changes in a breach in the island that occurred during Hurricane Sandy (modified from  Hapke et al., 2017). 
 

The CMHRP has been conducting scientific investigations at Fire Island in order to protect natural and cultural resources.

USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory staff, June 2019

During field observations on August 8, HVO scientists noted that all three ponds are now joined, indicating that the water at the bottom of Halema‘uma‘u continues to slowly rise. Rangefinder measurements also suggested continued pond deepening.

Synchrotron X-Ray microtomography 3D image (a) and cathodoluminescence slice (b) from the same reentrant-bearing quartz crystal from the Lava Creek Tuff. The reentrants are in darker blue in (a) and the black cavities in (b). Note their relationship to quartz growth bands. Red domains are small magnetite crystals.

USGS studies the growth rates of corals at a network of coral growth assessment stations throughout Buck Island National Monument in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. These data provide resource managers with information needed to understand how coral populations are doing in the park.

A close-up of the water ponds at the bottom of Halema‘uma‘u, using a zoom lens on the thermal camera. The smaller hot patches above the main pond show areas of warm water in the smaller ponds.

The water level continues to slowly rise at the bottom of Halema‘uma‘u, resulting in enlargement and merging of the small ponds. Today, the second and third ponds (top of image) observed over the weekend have merged, and are nearly connected to the main pond (bottom of image). For scale, the main pond is about 15 meters (yards) wide.

Zooming in on the bottom of Halema‘uma‘u, the small puddle between the two greenish ponds is more visible. USGS photo by J. Babb, 08/04/2019.

With the help of a powerful telephoto lens, HVO geologists confirmed today that there are two areas of ponded water at the bottom of Halema‘uma‘u. Using a laser range finder from their observation site, they were able to measure the two greenish ponds.

This image shows an area of greenish fume (near top of photo) east of the water pond (center) at the bottom of Halema‘uma‘u. This fume could suggest another emerging area of ponded water, but this has not yet been confirmed. HVO continues to closely monitor the area, and will report any significant changes.

While making observations today, HVO geologists noted a koa‘e kea (white-tailed tropicbird) gliding across the ponded water at the bottom of Halema‘uma‘u. The bird is visible in the top left quarter of the photo. USGS photo by M. Patrick, 08/03/2019.

The water pond deep within Halema‘uma‘u is impossible to see from most areas along the rim of Kīlauea's caldera. But one potential viewpoint on the rim was examined today by HVO geologists, who were able to see the small pond of water at the bottom of the crater, despite poor weather and fleeting views through fog.

On May 6, 2019, Congressman Charlie Crist (13^th district, FL) and Operations and Outreach Director Mr. Kendrick Lewis will visit the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC). Congressman Crist requested this visit because he is interested to learn more about the Center and to discuss needs/priorities that we may have.

A slightly closer view of the water in the bottom of Halema‘uma‘u taken with a telephoto lens during HVO's overflight today (August 1, 2019). USGS photo by S. Conway, 08/01/2019.

In the aftermath of the 2018 Carr Fire, northern California, sediment has eroded from burned hillslopes and accumulated in some areas of Whiskeytown Lake. A recent sediment deposit is shown here in the Whiskey Creek section of the lake.

Zooming in even closer, an HVO scientist captured this image of the water on the floor of the crater during today's overflight. For more information, please read "Water or no water: that is (or was) the question"—HVO's Aug.

This huge boulder was dropped by a retreating glacier on the north rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone in Yellowstone National Park, and it is a testament to Yellowstone's icy past.

Jessica Rodysill (Reston) and Hunter Wilcox (SPCMSC) deploying a corer in Lake Enriquillo. The scientists will use the cores to construct precipitation changes in Dominican Republic over the late Holocene (~5000 years ago to present) time period.