Images

View looking east into Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō, its crater partly filled by lava flows accumulating on the crater floor. The active lava lake in the crater is 205 m (673 ft) long and varies in width from 80-115 m (262-377 ft). The West Gap pit is in the central foreground, and the Puka Nui and MLK pits are to the right (the MLK pit is in back).

A breach in the south wall of the perched pond allowed lava to gush out onto the floor of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō Crater.

The lava accumulating on the southeast side of the crater has begun to form a low shield that extends out from the crater and has buried the Puka Nui and MLK pits. Compare this photo to one taken last week (July 21) from the same spot.

Around 2:20 p.m., HST, on August 3, lava broke out from a vent (center) low on the west flank of the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō cone. Lava erupting from the flank vent is entirely within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, and pose no hazard to residents.

Lava flowing from vents on the west flank of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō formed two branches. A weak north arm advanced northward into forested kipuka (upper right). A higher-volume south arm quickly advanced down Kīlauea's south flank along the edge of flows erupted in 2002-2004 (upper left).

HVO geologist and helicopter pilot repair a mobile Webcam on Kupaianaha to continue monitoring the east flank of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō.

Looking west into Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō Crater. Recent flows that have spilled out of the perched pond stand out by their silver color. These overflows have built up the crater floor another 5 m (16 ft) since last week. Kane Nui o Hamo, Mauna Ulu, and Pu‘u Huluhulu are in the background.

USGS scientists assembling a novel profiling arm to measure suspended sediment in the benthic boundary layer. This large seafloor platform was later deployed for several months off Martha's Vineyard, MA as part of the Optics Acoustics and Stress In Situ (OASIS) Project in 2011.

The image is from the Martian southern polar region. CO2 ice shown here is about 10 feet thick, and the semi-circular depressions are about 200 ft across. 

"The great inflated cylinder of black glass which formed over the sunken island, Aug. 18, 1911" (Frank Perret).

U.S. Geological Survey geographer Nadine Golden (center, kneeling) works with USGS marine operations staffer Cordell Johnson (right) and a deckhand (left) to deploy a camera sled from the research vessel Coral Sea. The sled is towed close to the seafloor and collects real-time photographs and videos.

Oblique aerial photograph near Rodanthe, North Carolina, looking south along the coast on August 30, 2011, three days after landfall of Hurricane Irene. 

Deploying the airgun array from CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent. USCGC Healy can be seen in the background.

CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent following the path created by USCGC Healy

During hurricanes the USGS deploys storm-surge monitoring instruments along the coasts, sounds, and bays in impacted areas to gauge how high hurricanes push water in rivers, bays and other areas. The sensors are crucial for forecasting future storms and assessing hurricane damage.

During hurricanes the USGS deploys storm-surge monitoring instruments along the coasts, sounds, and bays in impacted areas to gauge how high hurricanes push water in rivers, bays and other areas. The sensors are crucial for forecasting future storms and assessing hurricane damage.

During hurricanes the USGS deploys storm-surge monitoring instruments along the coasts, sounds, and bays in impacted areas to gauge how high hurricanes push water in rivers, bays and other areas. The sensors are crucial for forecasting future storms and assessing hurricane damage.

During hurricanes the USGS deploys storm-surge monitoring instruments along the coasts, sounds, and bays in impacted areas to gauge how high hurricanes push water in rivers, bays and other areas. The sensors are crucial for forecasting future storms and assessing hurricane damage.

John Erbland, Hydrologic Technician with the USGS South Carolina Water Science Center, holds a white board with information on the Hurricane Irene storm surge sensor deployment on a pier by the U.S. Coast Guard Station in the town of Wrightsville Beach.

Electronics inside the instrument shelter, which includes a high-data-rate transmitter (upper right) and line-of-sight receiver (middle left). The line-of-sight receiver picks up transmissions from the remote rain gage at the look-out area at the top of the Montezuma Pass, Arizona.

Extensive, contiguous mortality of piñon pine, ponderosa pine, and Douglas-fir trees, killed in the first afternoon and evening of the 2011 Las Conchas Fire in the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico. Forest drought stress is highly correlated with mortality from poor growth, bark beetle outbreaks, and high-severity fire.