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Volcano Hazards Program

Find U.S. Volcano

There are about 160 potentially active volcanoes in the U.S. The mission of the USGS Volcano Hazards Program is to enhance public safety and minimize social and economic disruption from volcanic unrest and eruption through our National Volcano Early Warning System. We deliver forecasts, warnings, and information about volcano hazards based on a scientific understanding of volcanic behavior.

News

Volcano Watch — A thank you letter to the HVO field technicians

Volcano Watch — A thank you letter to the HVO field technicians

Volcano Watch — Using ocean noise to monitor for volcanic eruptions

Volcano Watch — Using ocean noise to monitor for volcanic eruptions

Volcano Watch — Will Kīlauea summit lava fountains get taller? Time and chemistry will tell!

Volcano Watch — Will Kīlauea summit lava fountains get taller? Time and chemistry will tell!

Publications

Storage timescales and the crystal growth history recorded in the layered reservoir of the Unit 3 Kulanaokuaiki Tephra Member of the Uēkahuna Ash from Kīlauea volcano Storage timescales and the crystal growth history recorded in the layered reservoir of the Unit 3 Kulanaokuaiki Tephra Member of the Uēkahuna Ash from Kīlauea volcano

The Kulanaokuaiki Tephra Unit 3 (900 C.E.) was a subplinian basaltic scoria eruption, the largest known to have occurred at Kīlauea’s summit. The initiation mechanism and cause(s) of this highly hazardous eruption remain poorly understood, particularly as this style of activity has not been observed in the modern period. We use olivine diffusion timescales from Fe-Mg and lithium zoning...
Authors
Abigail Nalesnik, Kendra J. Lynn, Timothy R. Rose, Jessica M. Warren, Dawn Catherine Sweeney Ruth, Kuan-Yu Lin, Don Swanson

Self-Similar Vent Clustering in the Pinacate Volcanic Field (Sonora, Mexico and Arizona, United States) Self-Similar Vent Clustering in the Pinacate Volcanic Field (Sonora, Mexico and Arizona, United States)

The spatial distribution of vents in a distributed volcanic field may provide clues about the geometry of the volcanic field’s plumbing system. Distributed volcanism is characterized by magma feeders that are independent of one another, scattered over wide areas, and active for relatively short times (typically less than one hundred years). On the other hand, focused volcanism results in...
Authors
Francesco Mazzarini, Ilaria Isola, Emily E. Zawacki, Amanda B. Clarke, Ramon Arrowsmith, Daniel J. Lynch, Alejandro Hinojosa-Corona

Constraining sources of mid-Pleistocene to present explosive volcanism in the Gulf of Alaska using machine learning and compositional data analysis Constraining sources of mid-Pleistocene to present explosive volcanism in the Gulf of Alaska using machine learning and compositional data analysis

The long-term eruptive record of a region helps better elucidate magmatic processes at depth as well as volcanic hazards at the surface. Typically, reconstructing such records is done using proximal tephrostratigraphy and linking individual tephras to source volcanoes. These records, however, can only be accurately constructed if they are both well preserved and correctly linked to...
Authors
Jordan Edward Lubbers, Matthew W. Loewen, Kristi L. Wallace
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