Publications

Syn-eruption geochemical monitoring during volcanic activity is an important component of integrated volcanic monitoring. Volcanoes on the Island of Hawai‘i are primarily monitored by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory using instrumental networks, field surveys, satellite observations, and petrologic monitoring. In collaboration with the University of Hawaiʻi at...

We investigate the growth of a passive lava lake in Halemaʻumaʻu crater during the December 2020 to May 2021 eruption of Kīlauea volcano, Hawaii. Fed by vents above their surfaces, the formation of passive lava lakes in topographic lows is an important process in the growth of basaltic volcanoes. We captured visible and thermal images during 17 helicopter overflights and applied...

The Hawaiian Volcanoes Supersite was established in 2008 with the goal of making large amounts of volcano monitoring data, especially satellite measurements, freely available at a site of international interest, scientific importance, and impactful natural hazards. The location was chosen because of the long history of volcanological research and innovation on the Island of Hawaiʻi, as...

Volcanic debris avalanches have deposited as much as 1000 km3 of largely unconsolidated material on landscapes and remodeled existing drainage networks. The landscape disturbances created by these events pose severe, cascading downstream sedimentation hazards that can require long-term societal management, as demonstrated by decades of observations and ongoing interventions after the...

An analysis of 1,375 volcanoes in the Michoacán-Guanajuato (1,148 volcanoes in a 26,200 square-kilometer area) and Sierra Chichinautzin (227 volcanoes in a 3,500 square-kilometer area) volcanic fields in central Mexico identified patterns in the spatial and temporal distribution of past eruptions. A cluster agglomerative hierarchical method and kernel analysis confirmed that the...

The Barry Landslide, located in Barry Arm of Prince William Sound, Alaska, poses a major hazard due to its steep, unstable slopes and the potential for a massive landslide-generated tsunami. With an estimated volume of 500–700 million cubic meters, the Barry Landslide could trigger highly destructive waves. In this study, we focus on seismic signals from the Barry Landslide, which are...

This report describes a modeling investigation by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) of hazards in the Toutle and Cowlitz River valleys posed by hypothetical outburst floods from Spirit Lake, Washington. A massive debris avalanche resulting from the collapse of Mount St. Helens’ north flank during the May 18, 1980, eruption blocked Spirit Lake’s natural outlet into the North Fork Toutle...

Since the 1985 Nevado del Ruiz eruption that killed over 23,000 people in Armero, Colombia, risk communication has become central to volcanic crisis management. Despite the development of effective tools and programmes for volcanic risk communication, considerable challenges remain.

Determining accurate and precise ages for Quaternary volcanic centers is essential for reconstructing volcanic field histories, understanding magmatic processes, and assessing potential hazards or risk. Harrat Khaybar, western Saudi Arabia, is one of the youngest and potentially most active volcanic fields on the Arabian plate, has been active since ca. 1.7 Ma, and is characterized by a...

Volcanic eruption records provide key information for hazard planning but suffer from a time-dependent loss of resolution, hindering long-term evaluations of volcano behavior. Here, we investigate an exceptional sedimentary sequence from Lake Chalco, on the SE edge of Mexico City, which provides a perspective on volcanic activity over hundred-thousand-year time scales, and we develop a

Mauna Loa is the largest active volcano on Earth, comprising ∼51% of the Island of Hawai‘i’s landmass and posing significant risks to the island’s communities, infrastructure, and natural environment. Historical eruptions have produced lava flows that have reached the ocean in as little as 3 hr. The timing and location of such lava flows in the past 200 yr underscore how critical...