Images

Storm overwash, Surf Drive Beach, Falmouth, MA

Close up of Sheet 2 of "Lava inundation zone maps for Mauna Loa, Island of Hawai‘i," recently published by the U.S. Geological Survey. Colors depict lava Inundation zones for the Kaumana, Waiākea, and Volcano-Mountain View regions on Mauna Loa. Yellow indicates the volcano's Northeast Rift Zone, one area along which lava could erupt.

Mount Adams viewed from the southeast.

The lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u, a crater at the summit of Kīlauea, was about 30 m (98 ft) below the vent rim on the day of this photo (January 7, 2016).

In 2017, the massive Mud Creek landslide buried a quarter-mile of the famous coastal route, California’s Highway 1, with rocks and dirt more than 65 feet deep. USGS monitors erosion along the landslide-prone cliffs of Big Sur, collecting aerial photos frequently throughout the year.

In 2017, the massive Mud Creek landslide buried a quarter-mile of the famous coastal route, California’s Highway 1, with rocks and dirt more than 65 feet deep. USGS monitors erosion along the landslide-prone cliffs of Big Sur, collecting aerial photos frequently throughout the year.

In 2017, the massive Mud Creek landslide buried a quarter-mile of the famous coastal route, California’s Highway 1, with rocks and dirt more than 65 feet deep. USGS monitors erosion along the landslide-prone cliffs of Big Sur, collecting aerial photos frequently throughout the year.

Scattered breakouts today (October 13) on the western 61g flow margin were mapped at 1.3 km (0.8 mi) from the closest portion of the emergency road. The small pāhoehoe breakouts put on a show as they slowly oozed out of growing cracks that were forced open by flow inflation (pictured).

This map shows recent changes to Kīlauea's East Rift Zone lava flow field. The area of the active flow field as of September 21 is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the active flow as of October 12 is shown in red. Older Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō lava flows (1983-2016) are shown in gray. The yellow line is the trace of the active lava tube.

Today (October 12), the Kamokuna lava delta was measured at roughly 11 acres (4.5 hectares) in size. Over the past two months, several lava tube breakouts on the sea cliff have spilled lava onto the delta.

Damage to an unreinforced rock wall at KALAHIKIOLA Church in KAP‘A‘āU, North Kohala, on the Island of Hawai‘i, following the magnitude-6.6 Kīholo and magnitude-6.0 Māhukona earthquakes in October 2006. USGS photo by J. Takahashi.

HVO geologists relocate a time-lapse camera on the rim of the west pit lava pond in the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater. Over the past several months, the camera has been slowly tilting downward due to soft, altered ground beneath it, and the general instability of the rim. The new location, about 20 m (yards) to the south, appears to be more stable and less altered.

Josh Logan, a physical scientist at the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center in Santa Cruz, California, operates an unmanned aerial system, or UAS, often called a "drone", that is equipped with a video camera.

Video shot from drones yields details about changing landslide on California’s Big Sur coast

Surface breakouts (light in color) remain active on the upper coastal plain. These breakouts are fed by both the main eastern tube—left of the kipuka and below the tube's fume trace on the pali—and from the eastern June 26 breakout branch, visible to the right of the kipuka.

View of the huge landslide at Mud Creek on the Big Sur coast, October 12, 2017. USGS is studying the landslide, collecting data and imagery that can be used to monitor changes. USGS provides the data to Caltrans, the California Department of Transportation, whose heavy equipment and earth movers are shown here.

A view of the upper coastal plain breakouts on the episode 61g flow field. The majority of the active surface flows on the coastal plain are being fed by the June 26 breakout branch on the eastern margin of the flow field (right).

In 2017, the massive Mud Creek landslide buried a quarter-mile of the famous coastal route, California’s Highway 1, with rocks and dirt more than 65 feet deep. USGS monitors erosion along the landslide-prone cliffs of Big Sur, collecting aerial photos frequently throughout the year.

This map is similar to the map above but shows a thermal map over the Episode 61g lava flow. Cooler colors (blue and green) show cooled, inactive portions of the flow surface. Hot colors (red and orange) show areas of active surface breakouts.

Wayne Baldwin, USGS, deploys a sound velocity profiler off the stern of the R/V Stephens in Lake Powell, UT-AZ as part of a collaborative program with the Utah Water Science Center to map the depth and sediments within Lake Powell, UT-AZ.

Bottom: Cross-sectional view looking north. Right: Cross-sectional view looking west. Black outline is elevation profile through the summit of Mount Hood. Circles are sized with respect to earthquake magnitude. Earthquake locations from the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network.