Images

USGS crews had two research vessels out measuring streamflow on the Mississippi River at St. Louis on New Years Eve. USGS scientists Eric Looper and Jason Carron are one of many USGS field crews out in the floodwaters over the holiday.

USGS scientist Chris Rowden drives a research vessel measuring streamflow alongside another field crew on the Mississippi River at St. Louis.

USGS crews had two research vessels out measuring streamflow on the Mississippi River at St. Louis on New Years Eve. USGS scientists Eric Looper and Jason Carron are one of many USGS field crews out in the floodwaters over the holiday.

CNN interviews USGS National Flood Coordinator Bob Holmes live from the Mississippi River in St. Louis.

CNN interviews USGS National Flood Coordinator Bob Holmes live from the Mississippi River in St. Louis.

NBC Nightly News not only came out to interview USGS field crews on the Mississippi, they brought a team to fly overhead and capture video with a drone.

NBC Nightly News not only came out to interview USGS field crews on the Mississippi, they brought a team to fly overhead and capture video with a drone.

Scattered breakouts remain active northeast of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō, with the farthest activity about 6 km (3.7 miles) from the vent on Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. Some of these breakouts are active along the northern boundary of the flow field, and are burning several small patches of forest - creating the smoke plumes visible near the center of the photograph.

An HVO geologist collects a molten lava sample for chemical analysis, scooping up a bit with the rock hammer to then drop in the water bucket to quench it. Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō is visible in the distance.

This view shows the north rim of Kīlauea Caldera, with the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park's Jaggar Museum perched at the rim for ideal views of summit activity. Mauna Kea is in the distance, partially obscured by clouds, and Mauna Loa's Northeast Rift Zone extends off the left edge of the photo.

The sun angle was ideal this morning to show the complex texture on the surface of the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u Crater at Kīlauea's summit. Spattering was active in the southeast portion of the lake. For scale, the lake is about 230 meters or 755 feet across.

This map overlays a georeferenced thermal image mosaic onto a map of the flow field near Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō; to show the distribution of active and recently active breakouts. The thermal images were collected during a helicopter overflight on December 30. The June 27th flow is outlined in green to highlight the previously mapped flow margin.

Black and white phreatomagmatic deposits blanket the white and orange layers of metasedimentary country rock that was blasted into a crater 2100 years ago during the eruption of Ubehebe Craters in Death Valley National Park.

Kīlauea Volcano's summit lava lake was just one of many topics that USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists talked about at the recent American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco.

The breakout that began as a rupture from the tube supplying the June 27th lava flow continues to advance slowly to the northeast and has reached the forest.

This is a view of the new vent from the ground, showing the thin roof that caps the brightly incandescent cavity below. Views from the air show the cavity to be much larger than the current opening, probably extending at least as far as the sulfur staining in the foreground and back under the mound to the right.

A bubbling lava surface could be seen about 5 m (16 ft) below the opening of the new vent when viewed from the air. The size of the opening will likely grow with time, as the narrow septa between the individual holes collapse.

A new vent opened on the northeast flank of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō during the first week of December. This is the incandescent, fuming trio of holes just below and to the left of center in the accompanying image.

Lava, like this typical pāhoehoe flow on Nov. 12, 2015, continues to breakout northeast of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō (in background) on Kīlauea Volcano. Current activity is within about 6 km (4 mi) of the vent and poses no immediate threat to Puna communities.

During a kona wind, fume from Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō (foreground) and Halema‘uma‘u Crater (background), both on Kīlauea, blows northward, with towering Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea on the horizon. USGS photo.

The cover of USGS Professional Paper 1806, one of three recent books on Hawaiian volcanism. USGS photo.