Images

Montana State University students at an outcrop along Highway 20, in Idaho, sampling the Mesa Falls Tuff fall deposit exposed just beneath the ignimbrite. Photo by Madison Myers (Montana State University) on June 9, 2019.

Magma dynamics experiments seek to recreate the pressure and temperature at depths far beneath a volcano, in order to determine how the magma forms, evolves, and ascends prior to eruption.

Areas on Kīlauea that will be covered by a helicopter lidar survey in June 2019. Red lines enclose areas over which the survey helicopter will fly at 396 m (1,300 ft) above ground level. Green lines enclose areas over which the helicopter will fly at 151 m (500 ft) above ground level. USGS map.

Map showing the three types of young faults in Yellowstone National Park. Courtesy of the Wyoming State Geological Survey.

Schematic illustration showing the inferred irregular conduit geometries of (a) Old Faithful geyser, in Yellowstone National Park; (b) Velikan geyser, in Kamchatka, Russia, with boulders at the bottom depicted in brown; and (c) Geysir, in Iceland. The walls of the conduits are lined with white silica sinter similar to that exposed on the surface.

Schematic illustration showing the inferred subsurface structure of Geyser Flat, Whakarewarewa, in the Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand. From manuscript by Hurwitz and Manga (Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 2017. Vol. 45, pp. 31–59).

USGS geologists are conducting field work at the summit today to make observations of volcanic ash and measure volcanic gas. This photograph is taken on Crater Rim Drive where the road intersects the Southwest Rift Zone. Rockfall dust and volcanic ash covers the ground and cracks in line with the Southwest Rift Zone trace traverse the pavement.

Geologic time scale showing the geologic eons, eras, periods, epochs, and associated ages in millions of years ago (MYA). The time scale also shows major evolutionary and tectonic events in North America.

Clear day view of Mauna Loa during tradewind conditions from the summit of Kīlauea Volcano.

USGS researchers Todd Burton and Joe Adams flying a UAS at the 2018 eruption of the Kilauea Volcano

Plot of ground motion as recorded by a GPS station at Kīlauea's summit (red) and the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō vent (blue) for the 8 months leading up to the 2018 eruption. Note the sharp increase indicating pressurization beginning in March. Image shows an aerial view of Halema‘uma‘u crater and the actively overflowing lava lake on April 23, 2018. 

Map showing the northwestern corner of the Sour Creek Dome. The red lines mark the area where the map will be changing to become more accurate. Figure adapted from Wilson et al. 2018 (Bulletin of Volcanology, v. 80, article 53; doi:10.1007/s00445-018-1229-x).

High-resolution, bare-earth, airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) image, looking obliquely northwest into Rocky Ridge.

Mount Shasta, a steep-sided Cascade Range stratovolcano in Northern California, looms above Little Glass Mountain, a thick obsidian flow erupted from the Medicine Lake shield volcano about 1,000 years ago. These are just two of the young volcanic areas monitored by the USGS California Volcano Observatory. USGS photo.

An aerial view of the prominent 1940 cinder-and-spatter cone on the floor of Mauna Loa's summit caldera. The cone, about 100 m (330 ft) high, was built during a 134-day-long eruption that began on April 7, 1940. Most of the caldera floor around the cone is covered by lava flows erupted in 1984.

Simplified geologic map (left) and diagrammatic cross section (right) of Long Valley Caldera. The resurgent dome, Doe Ridge, Mammoth Mountain, and the Inyo Craters and Domes all reflect volcanic activity since 760,000 years ago, when a giant eruption formed the caldera.

Image of the 2018 Eruption of the Kilauea Volcano taken from a UAS at night

UAS ground control station at the 2018 eruption of the Kilauea Volcano

These views of Mauna Loa are from near the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory looking toward the west. The view on left is typical during strong trade winds that blow the plume from Halema‘uma‘u Crater southwest of the summit area. The view on right is common during slack winds that allow vog conditions to develop in the summit area of Kīlauea.

Department of Interior UAS pilots from left to right – Elizabeth Pendleton (USGS, Woods Hole, MA), Colin Milone (Office of Aviation Services, AK), John Vogel (USGS; Flagstaff, AZ), Sandy Brosnahan (USGS, Woods Hole, MA), Brandon Forbes (USGS; Tucson, AZ), Chris Holmquist-Johnson (USGS; Fort Collins, CO),&nb

Map showing the locations of all U.S. volcanoes with their threat category designated by color. Very high threat is red, high is orange, moderate is yellow, low is green, and very low is blue.