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An iceberg the size of Houston broke from the Brunt Ice Shelf Antarctica on January 22nd, 2023. Landsat images show the area one day before the break and several days after. A feature named Chasm One had been lengthening for years, and it finally reached all the way across the shelf.

Do animals prank humans? It sometimes feels that way, says Yellowstone Volcano Observatory’s scientist-in-charge Mike Poland. Mike shows some of the ways animals have “interacted” with monitoring equipment in this April 1, 2023 monthly update of activity at Yellowstone Volcano.

The USGS Alaska Science Center leads long–term research on polar bears to inform local, state, national and international policy makers regarding conservation of the species and its habitat.

Cheyenne Bottoms is the largest inland wetland in the United States. Water normally diverts from rivers into the vast marshland. The wetland water level changes with precipitation and surface flows. For example, 2007 was a wet year. And 2013 was a dry year.

Could an external event trigger a Yellowstone eruption? No, says Yellowstone Volcano Observatory’s scientist-in-charge Mike Poland, that’s not how volcanoes work. Most of the pressure that drives a volcano toward eruption comes from within, from the exsolution of gases in the magmatic system.

Behind the Headlines of a Wildlife Disease Die-off

The how and why of wildlife disease investigation 

By Dr. Kimberli Miller, Wildlife Disease Specialist 

USGS National Wildlife Health Center

Lava lake activity within Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea, continues. On February 14, low fountaining was present at the central vent, which was supplying lava into a channel that flowed towards the large eastern lake. 

The Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers deliver half the amount of sediment they did 50 years ago to San Francisco Bay. Just as sea-level rise is accelerating, the demand for sediment is growing.

On February 6, around 4:15 a.m. local time, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck south-central Turkey near the Turkey/Syria border.

Winter has arrived in the Yellowstone region. The deep snow and cold temperatures are harsh for animals, harsh for humans, and also harsh for volcano monitoring equipment.

This video, captured by the remote B1cam, shows lava erupting from multiple minor fountains (shown as a line of bright spots in the upper left of the video) and the cooling surface of the lava forming crustal plates that move toward the camera’s location.

During the early morning hours of January 5, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists were closely monitoring an increase in earthquake activity and changes in the patterns of ground deformation at Kīlauea’s summit, indicating movement of magma in the subsurface.

Kīlauea volcano began erupting in Halema‘uma‘u crater around 4:34 pm HST on January 5, 2023, as captured in this KWcam video. Within hours, multiple dome fountains were active in the central-eastern portion of Halema‘uma‘u crater’s floor. There were several large bursts of lava from the newly opened vent.