Volcano Watch

Mauna Loa is known for its effusive eruptions that produce spectacular lava flows. However, some of the volcanic products found on Mauna Loa are...

Thanks to late Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye, the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo (UHH), and the Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes (CSAV), a...

Known to many as “Pele’s Grandson,” Alexander (“Alex” or “Alec”) Lancaster guided both tourists and scientists to Hawai‘i’s volcanoes for over forty...

We traditionally spend the New Year singing “Auld Lang Syne,” a song that reminisces about times long past. For the first month of the New Year, staff...

Most people in Hawai‘i know about sulfur dioxide (SO2) gas, the major component of vog.  But, have you ever found yourself wanting to know the SO2/HCl...

Communities on the Island of Hawai‘i continue to recover from Kīlauea’s 2018 lower East Rift Zone eruption and summit collapse as does the USGS...

The electronics workshop at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) buzzes with creative activity. 

Scientists at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) largely rely on aerial data collection for making maps of ongoing eruptions at Kīlauea. Most...

Halemaʻumaʻu crater has undergone repeated changes during the past two centuries. Prior to 1924, the size and shape of the Halemaʻumaʻu lava lake...

It’s hard to believe that the “Volcano Watch” weekly article and volcano activity update started 30 years ago. On November 3, 1991, the USGS Hawaiian...

Olivine crystals—the beautiful green mineral common in Hawaiian lavas—record when and where magmas move inside Hawaiian volcanoes before they erupt...

Volcanoes commonly give us clues that they are going to erupt. Before an eruption, gas, magma, and other fluids move below the surface of a volcano...

The rapid onset of the current summit eruption sent USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory field crews running to grab their gear and head for the rim of...

The recent eruption on La Palma, in the Canary Islands, has stimulated speculation that the volcano might collapse, creating a tsunami that would...

The magnitude-6.2 earthquake that occurred on Sunday, October 10 at 11:49 a.m. HST, originated just south of the Island of Hawai‘i. The large...

The past year has seen fluctuating lava lakes, ephemeral lava fountains, craggy spires, and drifting “islands” reminiscent of pre-1924 Halemaʻumaʻu...

Kīlauea volcano is erupting again. Wednesday afternoon, lava returned to Kīlauea's summit within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park after a 4-month...

The Pacific is home to dozens of active volcanic systems including the massive Hawaiian shield volcanoes Kīlauea and Mauna Loa. Most basaltic shield...

Most residents of the Island of Hawaiʻi live on one of four potentially active volcanoes and probably have wondered about the threat of lava flows at...

Large quantities of volcanic gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and hydrogen sulfide (H2S), are released into the atmosphere...