Volcano Watch

Kīlauea’s summit lava lake in Halemaʻumaʻu is approaching its five-month anniversary on Thursday, May 20, while the water lake that occupied the...

Although Mauna Loa is Earth’s largest active volcano, it has lived in the shadow of Kīlauea since it last erupted in 1984.  The geologic record shows...

May 3rd marks three years since the start of the devastating lower East Rift Zone eruption of Kīlauea. In 2018, rising summit lava lake levels, caused...

Gravimeters, essentially extremely precise pendulums, can measure a change in the force of gravity to one-in-one billionth of the force you feel every...

It is no secret that the Island of Hawaiʻi is home to fantastic volcanic features, many of which have been created during eruptions of Kīlauea, Mauna...

The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) uses dozens of seismometers to locate individual earthquakes and identify signals that are related to...

One of the most interesting aspects of the current activity in Halemaʻumaʻu is the occasional oozing of lava around the edges of the entire crater...

A new project at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) is once again making use of old aerial photographs and field notes that were used to make...

Ocean swells occur continuously around the world. As these swells rise and fall, they couple with the ocean floor below them creating a constant...

Mauna Loa has been in the news lately, as the volcano continues to awaken from its slumber. While an eruption of Mauna Loa is not imminent, now is the...

Pele returned to the summit of Kīlauea on the evening of December 20, 2020. Incredible video documents the start of the new eruption in Halema‘uma‘u...

“When will Mauna Loa erupt next?” This was the title of a Volcano Awareness Month video presentation released by the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory...

Kīlauea’s current lava lake formed on December 20th and rose rapidly within Halema‘uma‘u crater during the dynamic first week of the ongoing summit...

The next USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) Scientist-in-Charge (SIC) has been named, and it’s a name that Island of Hawai‘i residents may be...

This story begins after Kīlauea’s May 4, 2018, M6.9 earthquake and lower East Rift Zone eruption. The M6.9 earthquake resulted in seaward motion at...

Words matter in volcanology just as in the rest of society. Words matter among volcanologists themselves, of course, but they particularly matter in...

Every rock on Earth is made of up a unique combination of chemical elements, and lavas/tephra formed during Hawaiian eruptions are no exception. What...

Volcanic gases are an important part of eruptions—they help magma to rise within the earth and erupt, they can tell us how much lava is being erupted...

In addition to a new year and a new eruption, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) is ushering in a new era for processing and studying...

It has been an exciting week at Kīlauea Volcano as the summit eruption that began on the evening of December 20th continues. The eruption remains...