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Explore our planet through photography and imagery, including climate change and water all the way back to the 1800s when the USGS was surveying the country by horse and buggy.

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Annotated photo looking at fissure 8 lava channels and identifying lava flows in residential areas and the ocean entry
Kīlauea Volcano — Fissure 8 Channel (Annotated)
Kīlauea Volcano — Fissure 8 Channel (Annotated)
Kīlauea Volcano — Fissure 8 Channel (Annotated)

Annotated drone image of Kīlauea Volcano's lower East Rift Zone fissure 8 lava channel. Image captured near Kapoho Crater looking east toward the ocean entry. Incandescent flow margin is more easily identified in the dark - specifically here in the area of Kapoho Beach Lots.

Annotated drone image of Kīlauea Volcano's lower East Rift Zone fissure 8 lava channel. Image captured near Kapoho Crater looking east toward the ocean entry. Incandescent flow margin is more easily identified in the dark - specifically here in the area of Kapoho Beach Lots.

Aerial shot showing lava flowing into residential area
Kīlauea Volcano — Lava at Kapoho Beach Lots
Kīlauea Volcano — Lava at Kapoho Beach Lots
Kīlauea Volcano — Lava at Kapoho Beach Lots

At the coast, the northern margin of the flow field is still oozing pasty lava at several points in the area of Kapoho Beach Lots.

Aerial view of an ocean entry with laze plumes
Kīlauea Volcano — Ocean Entry
Kīlauea Volcano — Ocean Entry
Kīlauea Volcano — Ocean Entry

The ocean entry being fed by a crusted over channel has fewer tiny ooze-out channels than yesterday spilling into the water. One larger ooze-out channel making dominant entry plume at the northern end of the broad ocean entry.

The ocean entry being fed by a crusted over channel has fewer tiny ooze-out channels than yesterday spilling into the water. One larger ooze-out channel making dominant entry plume at the northern end of the broad ocean entry.

Aerial of lava channels
Kīlauea Volcano — Open Lava Channels
Kīlauea Volcano — Open Lava Channels
Kīlauea Volcano — Open Lava Channels

Fountains from Fissure 8 spatter cone continue to supply lava to the open channel with intermittent small, short-lived overflows. Overflows appear as lighter gray to silver areas on the margins of the channel.

Fountains from Fissure 8 spatter cone continue to supply lava to the open channel with intermittent small, short-lived overflows. Overflows appear as lighter gray to silver areas on the margins of the channel.

Close up of a lava overflow
Kīlauea Volcano — Overfows
Kīlauea Volcano — Overfows
Kīlauea Volcano — Overfows

Close up image of overflows from the fissure 8 lava channel. Photograph taken during the morning overflight.

Close up image of overflows from the fissure 8 lava channel. Photograph taken during the morning overflight.

line graphs showing precipitation and temperature data for 3 future climate scenarios (hot/wet, hot/moderate precip, hot/dry)
Basin Characterization Model: Future Scenarios for Indian Wells Valley
Basin Characterization Model: Future Scenarios for Indian Wells Valley
Basin Characterization Model: Future Scenarios for Indian Wells Valley

Annual time series of precipitation and average air temperature for three future climate models for Indian Wells Valley, California as simulated by the Basin Characterization Model. Three future climate projections were selected from among 20 models used for California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment for application to Indian Wells Valley.

Annual time series of precipitation and average air temperature for three future climate models for Indian Wells Valley, California as simulated by the Basin Characterization Model. Three future climate projections were selected from among 20 models used for California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment for application to Indian Wells Valley.

View from the sky of a landscape with a river running through it, and the river is winding back and forth.
Mokelumne River Bathymetry
Mokelumne River Bathymetry
Mokelumne River Bathymetry

A winding strip of rainbow colors shows the bathymetry (depth) of the bed of the Mokelumne River just above its confluence with the San Joaquin in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta east of San Francisco Bay.

A winding strip of rainbow colors shows the bathymetry (depth) of the bed of the Mokelumne River just above its confluence with the San Joaquin in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta east of San Francisco Bay.

Animation showing changes in summit size on a map
Kīlauea Volcano — Animation of Summit Drop
Kīlauea Volcano — Animation of Summit Drop
Kīlauea Volcano — Animation of Summit Drop

This animated GIF shows a sequence of radar amplitude images that were acquired by the Agenzia Spaziale Italiana CosmoSkyMed satellite system. The images illustrate changes to the caldera area of Kīlauea Volcano that occurred between May 5 and June 30 at about 6:00 a.m. HST.

This animated GIF shows a sequence of radar amplitude images that were acquired by the Agenzia Spaziale Italiana CosmoSkyMed satellite system. The images illustrate changes to the caldera area of Kīlauea Volcano that occurred between May 5 and June 30 at about 6:00 a.m. HST.

Lava entering Kapoho Bay area
Kīlauea Volcano — Kapoho Coast
Kīlauea Volcano — Kapoho Coast
Kīlauea Volcano — Kapoho Coast

At the Kapoho coast, lava enters the ocean along the northern margin of the flow field. 

Lava channels coming from a distant fissure
Kīlauea Volcano — Lava Channels from Fissure 8
Kīlauea Volcano — Lava Channels from Fissure 8
Kīlauea Volcano — Lava Channels from Fissure 8

Lava from fissure 8 is fed into a channel that travels about 13 km (8 mi) to the sea. A plumemarks the location of fissure 8, visible in the upper right; a small plume in the upper center marks the location of fissure 22.

Lava from fissure 8 is fed into a channel that travels about 13 km (8 mi) to the sea. A plumemarks the location of fissure 8, visible in the upper right; a small plume in the upper center marks the location of fissure 22.

Lava flowing around islands of older lava in a lava channel
Kīlauea Volcano — Lava Flowing Around Channel Islands
Kīlauea Volcano — Lava Flowing Around Channel Islands
Kīlauea Volcano — Lava Flowing Around Channel Islands

Lava flows around islands in the lava channel. The direction of flow is from the upper right to lower left. Field crews can make a rough calculation of velocity by timing large blocks as they pass between two landmarks that are a known distance apart.

Lava flows around islands in the lava channel. The direction of flow is from the upper right to lower left. Field crews can make a rough calculation of velocity by timing large blocks as they pass between two landmarks that are a known distance apart.

Ocean entries from lava flows
Kīlauea Volcano — Ocean Entry at Kapoho
Kīlauea Volcano — Ocean Entry at Kapoho
Kīlauea Volcano — Ocean Entry at Kapoho

Lava was entering the ocean over a broad area this morning. This image shows an active entry area along the northern flow front at Kapoho. View to the south.

Lava was entering the ocean over a broad area this morning. This image shows an active entry area along the northern flow front at Kapoho. View to the south.

View of the summit with dust rising from a small rockfall
Kīlauea Volcano — Summit Rockfalls
Kīlauea Volcano — Summit Rockfalls
Kīlauea Volcano — Summit Rockfalls

View of Kīlauea Volcano's summit. The brown visible dust coming from Halema‘uma‘u is from rockfalls.

A geologist stands in a field with a video camera recording a fissure eruption in the distance.
Kīlauea Volcano — Video Data of Fissure 8
Kīlauea Volcano — Video Data of Fissure 8
Kīlauea Volcano — Video Data of Fissure 8

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist Matt Patrick acquires video of fissure 8 and the lava channel from Pohoiki Road/Highway 132. The video is used to document fountain behavior and lava flow characteristics, and how they change with time.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist Matt Patrick acquires video of fissure 8 and the lava channel from Pohoiki Road/Highway 132. The video is used to document fountain behavior and lava flow characteristics, and how they change with time.

Spectogram and wind data from stations on Stevenson Island Yellowstone
Spectogram and wind data from stations on Stevenson Island Yellowstone
Spectogram and wind data from stations on Stevenson Island Yellowstone
Spectogram and wind data from stations on Stevenson Island Yellowstone

Spectrogram and wind data from stations on Stevenson Island for June 30, 2018. Warm colors in the spectrogram correspond to stronger seismic energy compared to cool colors. The ~1-second-period lake-generated microseism (outlined by the black box) that was generated on this day is correlated with elevated wind speeds (red circles) as a storm passed by overnight.

Spectrogram and wind data from stations on Stevenson Island for June 30, 2018. Warm colors in the spectrogram correspond to stronger seismic energy compared to cool colors. The ~1-second-period lake-generated microseism (outlined by the black box) that was generated on this day is correlated with elevated wind speeds (red circles) as a storm passed by overnight.

Aerial map showing areas of deformation in Kilauea Volcano caldera
Kīlauea Volcano — Cracks and Deformation Map
Kīlauea Volcano — Cracks and Deformation Map
Kīlauea Volcano — Cracks and Deformation Map

High-resolution satellite data are useful for mapping cracks and deformation in the summit caldera at Kīlauea Volcano.

Fissure with lava channels and plumes rising into the sky
Kīlauea Volcano — Fissure 8
Kīlauea Volcano — Fissure 8
Kīlauea Volcano — Fissure 8

Fissure 8 and the proximal lava flow channel on the morning of June 29. Low fountaining within the cone is still producing a vigorous supply of lava to the channel.

Fissure 8 and the proximal lava flow channel on the morning of June 29. Low fountaining within the cone is still producing a vigorous supply of lava to the channel.

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