Multimedia Gallery

Photo shows volcanic gases from the current eruption at Kīlauea’s summit being transported southwest into the closed area (left side of photo). This photo also shows the cracks, cliffs, and uneven ground surfaces present in the closed area of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. USGS photo by K. Mulliken on 12/21/2020. 

Kīlauea summit KW webam image taken on December 21, 2020, just after 6:30 a.m. HST. The water lake, present until the evening of December 20, 2020, has been replaced by a lava lake; fissures in the wall of Halemaʻumaʻu feed a lava lake that continues to fill the crater. You can view live KW webcam images 

Aerial visual imagery collected during an overflight of Kīlauea Volcano's summit just after 11 a.m. HST on December 21, 2020, was used to create a preliminary topographic model. When compared to pre-eruption topographic models, it shows that the bottom of Halema'uma'u crater has been filled by over 100 m (yd) of lava. Map by B. Carr.

On the morning of Dec. 21, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory gas scientists use a FTIR spectrometer on the rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater. The FTIR measures the composition of the gases being emitted during Kīlauea Volcano's ongoing summit eruption by measuring how the plume absorbs infrared energy. The plume being generated by the ongoing eruption is sulfur-dioxide (SO2) rich, but

A Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geophysicist deploys campaign GPS sites on the Kīlauea caldera floor in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park to measure changes in ground motion. The gas plume from the summit eruption within Halema‘uma‘u crater is visible in the background. USGS photo taken by A. Ellis on December 21.

On the morning of Dec. 21, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory gas scientists use a FTIR spectrometer on the rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater. The FTIR measures the composition of the gases being emitted during Kīlauea Volcano's ongoing summit eruption by measuring how the plume absorbs infrared energy. The plume being generate by the ongoing eruption is sulfur-dioxide (SO₂

A helicopter overflight today (Dec 21, 2020) at approximately ~11:30 AM HST allowed for aerial visual and thermal imagery to be collected of the new eruption within Halema'uma'ucrater at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. This preliminary thermal map shows that the new lava lake is 580 m (yd) E-W axis and 320 m (yd) in N-S axis. The lake area is about 13.6 hectares (33 acres

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory field crews captured this photo of the thick gas plume, produced by the Kīlauea summit eruption, obscuring the intensity of the sun. Crater Rim Drive (a closed region of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park) is covered in a layer of tephra—volcanic glass—which has been transported by trade winds in the eruption plume, blanketing the pavement below.

HVO geologist retrieves and labels tephra samples from collection buckets placed downwind of Halema‘uma‘u crater after the onset of the Kīlauea summit eruption. These samples are collected for petrological analysis to gain further insight into the eruption dynamics.

A close-up photo of a tephra sample taken from one of the sample collection buckets. These small fragments of volcanic glass include Pele’s Hair and Pele’s tears—formed during lava fountaining—which are light weight and can be wafted downwind with the plume. 

Aerial view of the Kīlauea summit eruption from a Hawaiian Volcano Observatory overflight at approximately 11:20 a.m. HST. The two active fissure locations continue to feed lava into the growing lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u crater, with the northern fissure (pictured right) remaining dominant.

This animation shows lava erupting from Kīlauea Volcano on Dec 20, 2020. 

Concentrations of strontium in samples of groundwater from drinking-water wells and shallow monitoring wells. Concentrations in drinking-water wells that exceeded the health-based screening level of 4,000 micrograms per liter largely occurred in carbonate-rock aquifers, particularly in southern Florida and central Texas, and in areas where upwelling brines mix with potable

Kīlauea summit KW webcam image taken on December 20, 2020, just before 6 p.m. HST. Three and a half hours later, at 9:30 p.m., an eruption began in the walls of Halemaʻumaʻu crater, vaporizing the lake. You can view live KW webcam images here. USGS photo. 

Shortly after approximately 9:30 p.m. HST, an eruption commenced at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. Red spots are the approximate locations of fissure vents feeding lava flowing into the bottom of Halema‘uma‘u crater. The water lake at the base of Halema‘uma‘u crater has been replaced with a growing lava lake. Lava coverage is deeper by 10 m (32 ft) or larger and bigger in

Swath bathymetric image of the Elliott’s Crater explosion crater in Yellowstone Lake.  Inset shows location of the crater and the swath image (red box) within the northern part of the lake.

Distribution of Chronic Wasting Disease in North America, updated December 17, 2020.

If Mount St. Helens were to have a small eruption today (similar in size to its July 22, 1980 eruption), this simulation shows the ash cloud extent.

Brave Wilderness host, Coyote Peterson, holds his hands in a tank of live sea lamprey while filming the first of two sea lamprey-focused episodes for the show’s YouTube channel. GLSC communications associate, Dr. Andrea Miehls, assisted the Brave Wilderness team while filming in multiple remote locations across northeastern Michigan.

If Mount St. Helens were to have a moderate sized eruption today (similar to Mount Spurr, Alaska, August 18, 1992), this model shows the ash cloud extent. 

If Mount St. Helens (Washington) were to have an eruption today the same size as that of May 18, 1980, this model simulation shows the ash cloud reach.

Vessels like this use various sampling methods to collect fish at all life stages, adult, larvae, and eggs.

The black oystercatcher, a keystone species in nearshore ecosystems, plays an important role in structuring nearshore systems and is highly susceptible to human disturbance. Current inventory and monitoring efforts may not adequately address the information needs for estimating long-term trends for this species. To address these issues, the goal of this research is to

The U.S. Geological Survey is conducting research to guide the restoration and recovery of the threatened elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata, in Dry Tortugas National Park and throughout the western Atlantic. In this photograph, research marine biologist Ilsa Kuffner is doing maintenance on a USGS “calcification station”. The USGS has established these stations,

The U.S. Geological Survey is conducting research to guide the recovery of the threatened Elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata, in Dry Tortugas National Park and throughout the western Atlantic. A small Elkhorn colony, raised from a fragment collected after a storm, is shown here in the foreground after it was cemented to the reef to establish a new coral population.

Examining environmental deoxyribonucleic acid (eDNA) in water samples has demonstrated promise for identifying fish species present in water bodies. However, whether or not this same approach can be used to assess relative abundance, biomass, and species composition in large (greater than [>] 200-hectare) waterbodies is unclear. This research compared

Research drilling in Yellowstone National Park.  (A) is an image from Fenner (1936) of the drilling setup in the Upper Geyser Basin during the 1929 field season. (B) is an image from White et al. (1975) of the USGS drill rig set up in the Norris Geyser Basin in 1967-68 during a steam eruption.

The right side of the figure is an image of a small piece of the Y-9 core from the USGS 1967-68 drilling expedition to Yellowstone National Park. The black area was analyzed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) at the University of Wyoming to determine mineralogy and dispersion of elements. The black and white photo is an SEM image of the alteration mineral

Trace 1310 GC with a TSQ 9000 triple quadrupole MS (Thermo Scientific)

Nicole King (University of Toledo graduate student) holding a Grass Carp. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources and Michigan State University responded to a report from a commercial fisherman that grass carp were being captured in the Sandusky River. Researchers captured, tagged, and released grass carp to track their movements.

Map of earthquakes that occurred beneath Yellowstone Lake as parts of seismic swarms in 2008-2009 (green) and 2020 (red).  Orange line is the boundary of Yellowstone Caldera, which formed 631,000 years ago.

Rate of earthquake occurrence for the 2008-2009 Yellowstone Lake swarm (green) and 2020 swarm (red).

ANIMATED GIF: At Kīlauea summit, the KWcam webcam recorded several small color changes along the lake margin following rockfalls which impacted the lake surface. These rockfalls immediately followed a M3.1 earthquake Wednesday evening, December 2, at 5:59 p.m. HST. This animated image file (GIF) continuously loops two consecutive webcam images from 5:50 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.

KWcam webcam image from December 2 at 6:00 p.m. HST, immediately following a M3.1 earthquake at Kīlauea summit. Several rockfalls down the talus slope impacted the summit water lake, causing some brief localized color changes of the lake surface (circled in yellow).

A) Conditions during a 2015 munitions mobility experiment in Duck, NC, and B) cartographic visualization of hindcast probability of munitions’ complete burial during the experiment.

This photo was taken from the west rim of Kīlauea caldera at dawn, and shows the moon setting over Mauna Loa's broad Northeast Rift Zone. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

The USGS Active Groundwater Level Network includes about 20,000 wells that have been measured by the USGS or USGS cooperators at least once within the past 13 months. The animation shows a daily snapshot of water-level statistics in the network for November 2020.

Refer to the 

Tephra layers preserved at the summit of Kīlauea from at least three different eruptions. Deposits below the top of the scale are predominantly juvenile and deposits above it containing many lithics. Notice the larger size of the yellow pumice clasts compared to the much denser and finer grey lapilli and ash surrounding them from 7 to 18 on the scale. The scale is in cm.

Ohio State University graduate student Ann Marie Hulver and postdoc Dr. Leila Chapron from Dr. Andrea Grottoli's lab process samples collected for a study on elkhorn coral growth in the Florida Keys. These researchers are collaborating with Dr. Ilsa Kuffner of the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center to

Lidar hillshade map of part of the Blackfoot Volcanic Field, showing rhyolite domes and fault scarps.

Map of southeastern Idaho showing volcanic rocks related to the Yellowstone hotspot. Basalt is shown in red and rhyolite in yellow. Blue circles indicate the location of past Yellowstone calderas; caldera names and approximate ages are shown (Ma = million years old).

Far out, man... where science meets art

This is an image produced from one of two video cameras, which were installed to overlook the coast at Sunset State Beach in Watsonville, California. The cameras are part of the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center’s 

Landsat 8 image acquired on November 19, 2020 over northeast Mongolia (Path 127 Row 26). The image is shown using the shortwave infrared 1, near infrared, and red bands (bands 6,5,4).

Landsat Scene ID LC08_L1TP_127026_20201119_20201119_01_RT

White River spinedace. Photo taken Wayne E. Kirch Wildlife Management Area, Lund, NV.

Passive integrated transponder detection antenna located in the Flag Springs Complex in eastern Nevada. This is the only place on earth where White River spinedace still exist.

White River desert sucker. Photo taken Wayne E. Kirch Wildlife Management Area, Lund, NV.

White River spinedace. Photo taken Wayne E. Kirch Wildlife Management Area, Lund, NV.