Images

Glaucous-winged Gulls capitalize upon a disturbance at the Gull Island colony in 2018 to grab eggs abandoned by breeding Common Murres. One lone Common Murre continues incubation despite the rest of the colony flushing.

Grinnell Glacier from the summit of Mt. Gould, 9/25/2015. Repeat of Hileman, 1938 image.

HVO field crews carefully traverse the uneven surface of the channel levee (left of image) to make measurements of the fissure 8 lava channel. The lava is slowly cooling and contracting but the area remains warm (note the steam rising). The view is to the east, with Puu Honuaula in the distance (right of image).

The south edge of the lava flow showed no incandescence this morning and remained less than 0.1 miles from the Pohoiki boat ramp in Isaac Hale Park. The main ocean entry area was still in the Ahalanui area.

Void spaces within the cooled lava channel and along the channel margins create hazardous conditions on the fissure 8 flow field. Here, part of the void is visible, but a fragile veneer of lava hides other parts of it (upper right).

The fissure 8 vent (far distance, upper right) continues to feed an active lava channel on Kīlauea Volcano's lower East Rift Zone, shown here on July 26, 2018.

Diana McCandless of the Washington State Department of Ecology pauses for a moment, on the beach around the point and to the east of the mouth of Elwha River. McCandless is part of a team of scientists from WA State and the USGS who are periodically mapping the delta and beach areas near the mouth of the Elwha River.

The caldera floor near Halema‘uma‘u is a jumble of down-dropped blocks and surface cracks. HVO field crews hiked along the roadway to verify the location of benchmarks (lower left) and prepare for additional geophysical work to document the changes. The road provided access to the Overlook parking area, closed since 2008.

Nighttime view of fissure 8 lava as it exits the vent and feeds into the channel.

View from the bank of the cooling lava channel near the Leilani Estates subdivision. The height difference between the channel (right) and upper bank (left) is about 8 m (26 ft). Although lava is not flowing from fissure 8, the lava flow field includes large areas of still-hot, rugged, and unstable lava surfaces.

Dr. Damian Menning, Geneticist with the USGS Alaska Science Center, preparing environmental samples containing Elodea species to test universal eDNA Elodea species primers that can be used to detect all five Elodea sp. in aquatic samples.

Elkhorn Slough is a tidal river delta, salt marsh, and estuary in Monterey County, California. It is near the community of Moss Landing and is fed by Carneros Creek.

Dr. Damian Menning, Geneticist with the USGS Alaska Science Center, preparing environmental samples containing Elodea species to test universal eDNA Elodea sp. primers that can be used to detect all five Elodea sp. in aquatic samples.

Natural Bridges State Beach, shown here in the middle of the photo, is nestled amongst coastal neighborhoods in the southwestern part of Santa Cruz, California. View is looking south. The offices of the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center are just a few hundred feet north, outside the bottom portion of the photograph.

USGS and Washington State Department of Ecology scientists are geared up and ready to start a topographic survey at the mouth of the Elwha River, using handheld computers and backpack-mounted GPS equipment. From left to right are Owen Warrick (USGS Volunteer), Jon Warrick (USGS), Andy Ritchie (USGS), Heather Weiner (WA State Dept.

This morning, USGS scientists flying over fissure 8 noticed a change in the vent from yesterday. Gas jets were throwing spatter—fragments of glassy lava (light gray deposits)—from small incandescent areas deep within the cone. This activity is an indication that the lower East Rift Zone eruption may be paused rather than pau (over).

Data from continuous GPS stations indicate how the ground is moving over time. Station WLWY, near White Lake on the Sour Creek resurgent dome in Yellowstone caldera, has been operating since 2001. This plot shows vertical ground motion recorded at the site.

Common Murre flying in lower Cook Inlet, Alaska. 

View from this morning's helicopter overflight of the Pohoiki boat ramp at Isaac Hale Park shows black sand, transported to the southwest by longshore currents, blocking the entrance to the small boat harbor.

Groundwater occurs in the saturated soil and rock below the water table. If the aquifer is shallow enough and permeable enough to allow water to move through it at a rapid-enough rate, then people can drill wells into it and withdraw water.

Lava continues to ooze into the ocean at scattered entries along the Kapoho (pictured) and Ahalanui lobes.