Hawaii Volcano Blog

Communities on the Island of Hawai‘i continue to recover from Kīlauea’s 2018 lower East Rift Zone eruption and summit collapse as does the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

The electronics workshop at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) buzzes with creative activity. It’s like Santa Claus’ workshop—for volcano science.

Scientists at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) largely rely on aerial data collection for making maps of ongoing eruptions at Kīlauea.

Halemaʻumaʻu crater has undergone repeated changes during the past two centuries. 

David Clague, former HVO Scientist-In-Charge, initiated this series of weekly articles in late-1991.

Lavas and their minerals erupted from Hawaiian volcanoes provide clues to the history of the magmas that are eventually erupted.

Pavlof Volcano, Alaska’s stratovolcano, located within the Aleutian volcanic arc, has remained elusive in yielding clues to impending eruption.

The onset of an eruption is frequently the most dynamic and vigorous period, requiring a quick evaluation of potential hazards.

The recent eruption on La Palma, in the Canary Islands, has stimulated speculation that the volcano might collapse, creating a tsunami that would devastate the east coast of North and South America. But is such a scenario possible or likely?

The large earthquake, caused by bending of the oceanic plate, serves as a stark reminder that the State of Hawaiʻi is no stranger to potentially damaging earthquakes.

Recent activity at Kīlauea has USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) scientists reflecting on prior observations and how they compare to recent activity.

HVO scales back warning levels at eruption site due to new data Monday.

Kīlauea volcano has stirred awake yet again.

The island of Ambae, in Vanuatu, is a large basaltic shield volcano that lies along the subduction zone between Fiji and Papua New Guinea in the South Pacific.

Most residents of the Island of Hawaiʻi live on one of four potentially active volcanoes and probably have wondered about the threat of lava flows at one time or another. 

Over the summer of 2021, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) scientists conducted a detailed gas survey of the caldera floor and rim in order to understand the distribution of current emissions.

HVO explains the difference between an intrusion and eruption following a flurry of activity south of the Kīlauea caldera a week ago.

Late Monday afternoon, earthquake activity picked up at Kīlauea’s summit.

The earthquake swarm that began beneath the south part of Kīlauea caldera, within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park has waned.

Kīlauea volcano alternates between periods dominated by lava flows, such as the one we are currently in, and periods of explosive activity.