Images

USGS volunteer Josh Brown on Santa Claus Beach, Carpinteria, at the start of a 14-mile walking survey of southern California beaches. The differential GPS equipment carried in the backpack collects elevation, or topographic, data of the beach, accurate to about 1 inch (2 centimeters) both horizontally and vertically.

Drone image of Nauset Inlet, Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts

Footprints in mud layer deposited on the sand at Miramar Beach in Montecito, California, by January 9 flood waters coming down San Ysidro Creek.

On March 25, between 10:06 and 10:08 p.m., a small lava flow began erupting onto the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater floor for the first time since May 2016. In this thermal image, taken by the PTcam today (March 26) at 1:18 p.m., the flow (bright color) appears to be supplied by one of the small spatter cones in the crater's south embayment.

Dr. Nial Peters from the University of Cambridge sets up the prototype radar on the rim of Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea in January 2018. Microwave pulses are transmitted from one dish towards the lava lake surface. Some of the microwave energy is reflected back and is received by the other dish.

Today marks the 10th anniversary of the eruption within Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. When the vent first opened on March 19, 2008, it formed a small pit about 115 feet (35 m) wide. Over the past decade, that pit (informally called the "Overlook crater") has grown into a gaping hole about 919 feet by 656 feet (280 x 200 m) in size.

When Matt measured the lava lake level this morning, the lake surface was 89 feet (27 m) below the Overlook crater rim. With the lava lake at that level, spattering on the lake surface could be seen from the Jaggar Museum overlook in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park today.

To mark the 10th anniversary of Kīlauea Volcano's summit eruption, USGS-Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist Matt Patrick talks about his work monitoring the lava lake in Halema'uma'u Crater, for a USGS Volcanoes Facebook Live event.

Brett Tipple (University of California, Santa Cruz) collects a sample of charcoal and soil adjacent to a gully forming on a hillslope above Sonoma Creek, which was burned by the Nuns wildfire in October 2017.

John Pohlman (USGS), David Brankovits (USGS/WHOI) and Jake Emmert (MG) deploy acoustic devices in open water sinkhole (or cenote) prior to a 6-month long installation in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico cave

On March 14, HVO's webcam [MLcam] captured this image of a double rainbow, which seems to end in Moku‘āweoweo, the caldera at the summit of Mauna Loa. No pots of gold were observed—only patches of snow from recent winter storms.

HVO's HMcam also captured an image of today's rockfall and subsequent explosion (upper right) as it occurred.

Just before noon today, HVO's summit webcam (KIcam) captured this striking image of Kīlauea Volcano's ongoing summit eruption. A small rockfall on the north side of the Overlook crater triggered a small explosion in the lava lake, sending a dark-colored ash plume skyward.

On November 5, 1967, a line of vigorous lava fountains erupted on the floor of Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea. Lava soon covered the entire crater floor as volcanic gases billowed skyward (aerial view). Near the center, a pool of molten lava repeatedly overflowed a levee of crusted lava, spilling flows onto the lava-covered crater floor (inset).

A photo of the ledge that is building on Halema‘uma‘u lava lake's southern ledge. Small collapses of the unstable ledge are also common.

Another ledge along the eastern margin has been building out from the vent wall, showing the recent high lava lake level mark (new black lava).

Within Kīlauea Volcano's summit lava lake, vigorous spattering was occurring on the southern margin where a ledge of solidified lava has built out from the vent wall. The vigorous spattering site was active in an indentation in the ledge.

BeachCam's perspective on the storm! This is the last image taken before the camera stopped working on Friday, March 2 at 11:23 a.m.

Waves break between houses on White Cap Path in Sandwich, MA near high tide on Friday, March 2, 2018

 photo taken at noon on Friday, March 2, 2018, shows floodwaters more than two feet deep on Water Street, Sandwich, MA, approaching the beach cam house (visible above the mailbox) and Town Neck Beach parking lot.

The choice when issuing earthquake warnings is to: 1) issue alerts for weak shaking and potentially provide long warning times, but risk sending alerts for the many events that do not go on to produce damaging ground shaking, or 2) issue alerts only when ground shaking is expected to be damaging, with the tradeoff that the alert will be sent much later, reducing