Volcano Watch — The U.S. Geological Survey’s review process: checking and verifying our information
Volcano Watch is a weekly article and activity update written by U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists and affiliates. Today's article is by Natalia Deligne, a geologist at HVO. Examples of information that the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory provides, including data of current activity, scientific publications, maps, and summaries (such as fact-sheets), and eruption response information. All have been part of the USGS review process. We start with HVO’s volcano and earthquake monitoring network, scientific research, and other techniques, such as field work, lab work, and other analyses. These form the basis of science-based information we provide through briefings
Earthquake monitoring at Newberry volcano (December 18, 2024)
Beginning on December 22, 2024, and continuing off-and-on for several weeks to months, a private exploration company called Mazama Energy will conduct geothermal exploration work near Newberry volcano. As their geothermal work proceeds, many small magnitude, non-volcanic earthquakes will occur, which will be detected by the Newberry seismic network. During geothermal exploration activities at Newberry in 2012 and 2014, for example, hundreds of small earthquakes of magnitude M2.5 or less occurred while a company conducted its work. Increased rates of seismicity will be closely monitored by the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory and its monitoring partner the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network.
Volcano Watch — It’s All About Perspective: How to Interpret an Interferogram
Volcano Watch is a weekly article and activity update written by U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists and affiliates. Today's article is by Tyler Paladino, a Postdoctoral Fellow with the U.S. Geological Survey. Panels A and B show what an interferogram would look like for a simple expanding spherical magma chamber from an ascending and descending orbital perspective. The star shows the true center of the inflating magma source. The arrow and bar denote satellite flight direction and look direction respectively. Each fringe represents approximately 1.55 cm. Panels C and D show the same event in a cross-section view.
Island of Hawaiʻi Volcano Awareness Month Programs in January 2025!
Wednesday, January 1 Volcano Awareness Month art and poetry contest submission opens! You are invited to enter a USGS-Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) art and poetry contest recognizing the dynamic volcanic landscapes of Hawaiʻi nei! We welcome submissions from Kamaʻāina, visitors, and anyone with an interest in Hawaii’s volcanoes. Submit your entry by January 20, 2025. See here for more information. Saturday, January 4 Hike the path of Mauna Loa’s 1868 lava flow USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist Katie Mulliken leads this guided hike along the Pu‘u o Lokuana trail, which traverses Mauna Loa’s 1868 lava flows. Katie will tell the story of
Volcano Watch — How have eruptions shaped Hawaii? Volcano Awareness Month 2025, with a twist
Volcano Watch is a weekly article and activity update written by U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists and affiliates. From Lēʻahi (Diamond Head) on Oʻahu to the changing caldera at the summit of Kīlauea volcano on the Island of Hawaiʻi, our landscape is shaped by volcanic processes and events. 2024 has been another year of dynamic volcanic activity on the Island of Hawaiʻi, with Kīlauea eruptions occurring outside of Kaluapele (the summit caldera) for the first time since 2018. Multiple intrusions into the upper portions of the Southwest Rift Zone and East Rift Zone culminated in a one-day eruption
What’s normal for a volcano? How CalVO scientists decide when to raise an alarm (or not)
In this spectrogram from November 30, 2024, at Mammoth Mountain, earthquakes in a swarm appear as bright blips of color, arriving rapid-fire and very close in time at nearby stations. Every day, CalVO duty scientists check the number, intensity, and character of earthquakes happening at our volcanoes. It's actually quite common for an active volcano - meaning one that has eruptible magma somewhere in its plumbing - to experience small quakes and shakes. There's always something going on, whether it's magma gurgling, gases and fluids flowing through a hydrothermal system, or the bulk of the volcano settling and shifting. The
Volcano Watch — What sounds the (automated) alarms at HVO?
Volcano Watch is a weekly article and activity update written by U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists and affiliates. Example plots of STA/LTA alarm on infrasound data for four possible alarm scenarios. A shows detection of a real eruption, B shows a false detection of non-volcanic change, C shows failure to detect a real eruption amid noisy data, and D shows no detection of any event of interest. Because it can be very expensive to have scientists watch the volcano data streams on a 24-hour basis, HVO computers are ‘trained’ to look for activity and alert when the volcano
Volcano Watch — Potential long-term outcomes of recent intrusions in Kīlauea East Rift Zone
Volcano Watch is a weekly article and activity update written by U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists and affiliates. Chain of Craters within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park before 1969, when several craters were partly or completely filled with lava. Now the Chain of Craters Road turns south, away from its pre-1969 route, between Pauahi and ʻAloʻi, a pit crater buried in 1969 by Maunaulu lava flows. The junction with the Hilina Pali Road is essentially at Devil’s Throat. The eruption in and near Nāpau Crater on September 15–20 is an example of a brief eruption in this area. If
Volcano Watch — The 2024 Great Hawaii ShakeOut
Volcano Watch is a weekly article and activity update written by U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists and affiliates. Today's article is written by HVO seismologist Jefferson Chang. Back in my hanabata (younger) days, we would sometimes hear these melodic chimes slowly moving through the neighborhood. You couldn’t see where it was at first, but you knew what it was immediately. That sweet sound signaled that the manapua truck was coming by. As kids, we would hear that sound and run outside to look for the truck and wait in anticipation—all the while yelling to our neighbors that “the
Volcano Watch — Tilting towards lava: How tiltmeters monitor volcano activity
A tiltmeter is a sensitive instrument designed to detect very slight changes in deformation of the ground. They are installed around volcanoes to monitor changes in the Earth’s surface caused by magma moving underground. These movements often precede eruptions, as pressure from magma pushes against the surrounding rock, causing the surface to bulge or shift slightly. Imagine a carpenter’s level laid on the ground at Kīlauea, oriented radially away from Kaluapele (the summit caldera). As magma enters the magma reservoir beneath the caldera and the volcano inflates, the end of the carpenter’s level closest to the caldera is raised upwards