Videos

A helicopter overflight on September 23, 2020, provided airborne views of the water lake at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. Visual and thermal images collected during the overflight are used for mapping the slowly enlarging lake. A segment of the video shows the remains of Crater Rim Drive, a portion of which collapsed during the 2018 summit activity.

This video, taken on September 23, 2020, shows a small area of bubbling or upwelling along the western shoreline of the water lake at the summit of Kīlauea. This feature may result from a submerged fumarole (gas vent) on the crater wall. The extent of this feature is limited and it does not seem to have a significant effect on the overall lake surface activity.

The importance of our Nation’s coasts is indisputable. They provide homes for people and animals alike, and support the Nation’s economy. The USGS Coastal Change Hazards team studies how our shorelines change over time, especially following extreme events such as storms and hurricanes.

The importance of our Nation’s coasts is indisputable. They provide homes for people and animals alike, and support the Nation’s economy. The USGS Coastal Change Hazards team studies how our shorelines change over time, especially following extreme events such as storms and hurricanes.

Throughout the historically active 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season,USGS hydrologists have been working quickly to collect vital flood and streamflow information in impacted areas.

Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, gives an overview of activity at Yellowstone during August 2020.

 

This time-lapse movie, which spans January 2019 to August 2020, shows the changing nature of the seasons at Yellowstone Lake as captured by the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory webcam. Snow and ice come and go, and there is even a wildfire visible during the summer of 2019!
 

Infrasound is an important tools for volcanologists, allowing them to detect eruptions, locate the source of explosions, and understand important parameters of volcanic events. John Lyons discusses how the technique is used by the USGS, especially in Alaska, and how we are working to help study infrasound around the world.
 

Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, gives an overview of activity at Yellowstone during July 2020.

 

This video highlights two mosaics of the Jezero crater landing site on Mars made by the USGS Astrogeology Science Center to support the Mars 2020 mission, as well as several key locations that the Perseverance rover may visit once it is on the surface.

The video describes work by Jay Wellik, a USGS seismologist and his colleagues with the Volcano Disaster Assistance Program (VDAP). They assisted Indonesia's CVGHM in responding to the 2017 activity/eruption at Mt. Agung, on the island of Bali.

Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, gives an overview of activity at Yellowstone during June 2020.

 

Reflections on the Ridgecrest earthquake sequence one year after from a few USGS employees. Employees discuss when they first heard about the magnitude 6.4 and notable professional experiences that happened afterwards.
 

The video describes USGS efforts to improve lahar (mudflow) monitoring at Mount Rainier, an ice-clad volcano in Washington State with potential for dangerous volcanic mudflows. The presentation was given to colleagues in the US and in Ecuador by Andy Lockhart.

This video describes USGS use of Unoccupied Aircraft Systems (UAS) or "drones" for use in 2018 at Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii. The speaker, Angie Diefenbach, is a leading expert in use of UAS for volcano surveillance and research. The presentation was given in June 2020 to colleagues in Ecuador who are interested in applications of UAS at their volcanoes.

Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, gives an overview of activity at Yellowstone during May 2020.

 

Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, gives an overview of activity at Yellowstone during April 2020.

 

Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, gives an overview of activity at Yellowstone during March 2020.

 

Tall and contiguous coastal dunes can substantially mitigate storm surge and flooding near our coasts. Understanding the position and height of dunes, as well as how these features change over time, is critical to the USGS mission of predicting impacts to coastal infrastructure and habitat caused by storms and hurricanes.

Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, gives an overview of activity at Yellowstone during February 2020.

 

The Florence Bascom Geoscience Center conducts geologic research using digital elevation models to map karst systems and sinkhole hazards in the United States. Understanding these complex geologic systems helps to inform land use planning and development decisions.