California Volcano Observatory Operations during COVID-19

Our USGS and California Volcano Observatory (CalVO) priority is to maintain the safety and well being of our communities, including critical situational awareness of volcanoes here and across the country. We are following precautionary safety measures provided by state and national authorities, as well as doing the same for our volcano monitoring activities in California and Nevada. There has been no change in our monitoring activities, and remote stations continue to send data to the observatory. Our field crews will do site visits as needed to maintain the quality of the monitoring stations.

Work continues as though CalVO will have a field season, but we will follow federal government guidelines. Many of our field areas are in remote areas where social distancing may well not be an issue. The current situation helps test our communications readiness for the next major eruption. The health and safety of the public and our employees are our highest priorities, and we continue to follow guidance from the White House, the CDC, and state and local authorities, as we implement teleworking, social distancing and virtual meeting tools.

As always, please use askCalVO@usgs.gov to contact the California Volcano Observatory.