Videos

This time-lapse sequence shows the growth of the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea. The sequence starts on December 28, about a week after the start of the eruption and ends on March 10, 2021. The lake rises rapidly at first but then eventually slows down as the eruption rate gradually declines.

How did the May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens change peoples’ lives? Carolyn Driedger talks about events that led up to the 1980 eruption and influenced scientists’ response to it, as well as what happened on May 18, and how the eruption changed people's lives and professions.

This timelapse sequence shows several hours of activity in the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea. Between March 5-7 a small lava pond developed near the vent. At approximately 1 pm on March 7, the levee of the pond collapsed, allowing the pond lava to drain into the main lake.

A routine helicopter overflight of Kīlauea's East Rift Zone allowed Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists to conduct an updated visual and thermal survey. This video is shown at 5x speed, and moves from west to east. At the western end of the region affected during the 2018 eruption, steaming remains in residential areas west of Highway 130.

Visual photographs taken during helicopter overflights of Halema‘uma‘u Crater are used to create 3D models of the crater. This technique is called structure-from-motion photogrammetry and uses the multiple perspectives captured in dozens of photos to reconstruct the crater shape.

A routine helicopter overflight of Kīlauea's East Rift Zone allowed Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists to conduct an updated visual and thermal survey. This video is shown at 2x speed and circles Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō, the vent region for the East Rift Zone eruption between 1983 and 2018. No major changes were observed in Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō.

A routine helicopter overflight of the East Rift Zone of Kīlauea on March 4, 2021, allowed HVO geologists to conduct an updated visual and thermal survey. This video is shown at 5x speed and follows the new coastline created during the 2018 eruption in the Kapoho area.

An overview of LCMAP Collection 1 science products: Time of Spectral Change, and Spectral Change Magnitude products.

This video explains how streamgages are used to measure the height and flow, or speed, of streams. By monitoring the height and flow of streams, the people who manage water infrastructure can have advanced noted of when the water is rising and how fast it’s coming.

Welcome to the "The I Am A..." series. This is the sixth video in a series of USGS whiteboard animations that highlight USGS careers.

This video clip shows the inlet zone where lava enters the lake in Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. 
 

Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, debunks the misconception that if Yellowstone were to erupt, it would be Armageddon. In fact, the most common form of eruptive activity at Yellowstone is a lava flow, and even those aren't that common. They happen only once every few tens of thousands of years.

The remote ice fields of southern Chile have seen some dramatic change over the past three decades; change made clear by Landsat's deep archive of imagery. In 1987, the terminus of Erasmo Glacier was at the end of a low sloping valley. By 2015 it had retreated almost 3 kilometers, and formed a water body referred to as a proglacial lake.

USGS scientists collect water quality samples in the San Francisco Bay. The samples have been collected at the same locations for >50 years and are part of one of the longest running datasets of its kind in the United States.

Agenda:

• 00:05 Accessing 3DEP Lidar and DEMs: Presenters - Rob Dollison & Jason Stoker
• 16:21 WBD Improvements for White Mountains National Forest, New Hampshire: Presenter- Brittany Gold: USGS Utah Water Science Center

Links:

What stories do rocks tell? What techniques do scientists use to study volcanoes? Dr. Heather Wright talks about the May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, provides an overview of volcanoes and how they erupt, and shows why scientists continue to monitor this active volcano, in this presentation to the Sno-Isle Libraries’ 2021 Whidbey Reads program.

What do USGS Hydrologic Technicians do on the job? This video features two Hydrologic Technicians from the South Atlantic Water Science Center sharing how they inspect streamgages, which is an integral part of a Hydrologic Technician's work. This video was sponsored by the USGS Hydrologic Data Advisory Committee.
 

This video shows a close-up of the small inlet where lava enters the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. The inlet consists of a small upwelling zone, with lava rapidly developing a thin flexible crust as it moves away from the source.

On February 11, 2021, no major changes were observed at the lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. The inlet site where lava is entering the lake had a small upwelling zone raised slightly above the surrounding lake surface. 

An overflight today provided aerial views of Kīlauea's ongoing summit eruption. No major changes were observed at the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u crater. Active surface lava is still largely limited to the western portion of the lake. Snow on Mauna Kea can be seen in the distance.
 

Welcome to the "The I Am A..." series. This is the fifth video in a series of USGS whiteboard animations that highlight USGS careers.